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Russia Intensifying Attacks On Civilian Infrastructure Amid Ukraine Battlefield Setbacks, U.K. Military Says

By RFE/RL September 18, 2022

Britain's Defense Ministry said Russia has intensified and widened attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure after Moscow suffered battlefield setbacks as part of Kyiv's counteroffensive in the east and south of the country.

“As it faces setbacks on the front lines, Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government," the ministry said in its September 18 intelligence update.

Separately, the top U.S. general said it was unclear how Russia might react to the latest battlefield setbacks in Ukraine.

"The war is not going too well for Russia right now. So it's incumbent upon [U.S. troops] to maintain high states of readiness, alert," Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Warsaw after visiting a base hosting U.S. forces in Poland.

The comments come after the Ukrainian military has made dramatic gains in its effort to recapture territory occupied by Russian forces since early in the war.

Kyiv has retaken control of hundreds of towns and villages in the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country, while managing minor advances in the south near Kherson.

On September 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that authorities had found a mass burial site containing the bodies of 17 soldiers in Izyum, some of which he said bore indications of torture.

Workers began exhuming bodies in a forest gravesite near the strategic city following its recapture last week. The causes of death for the 440 bodies recovered have not yet been established.

Izyum Mayor Valeriy Marchenko said work at the site would continue for a further two weeks.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it targets civilian sites, despite video evidence of such attacks. Moscow has accused Ukraine of deliberately attacking civilians or committing atrocities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed Ukraine's counteroffensive and said his forces would respond more forcefully if troops were put under additional pressure.

When asked in a CBS interview what he would tell Putin if he were to consider using tactical nuclear weapons, U.S. President Joe Biden said: "Don't. Don't. Don't. It would change the face of war unlike anything since World War II."

On the diplomatic front, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was "steadfast in its support of Ukraine" and would continue to offer aid to Kyiv as it defends itself against the Russian invasion.

Trudeau is in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and is scheduled to meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal later on September 18.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram that Russia hit Izyum and another newly liberated town, Chuhuyiv, with heavy shelling on September 18, damaging residential and commercial buildings, production sites, and gasoline stations.

He said shelling in Chuhuyiv killed an 11-year-old girl and that two women were killed by a tank shell in the region.

Kyiv has warned civilians not to rush back to newly liberated areas and allow authorities to first restore Ukrainian control and safety measures.

Russia's Defense Ministry on September 18 said its forces had launched strikes on Ukrainian positions in several regions and it accused Kyiv of shelling near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Ukraine denied it had shelled near the facility.

On September 17, the UN atomic watchdog -- which has inspectors on-site -- said the plant had been reconnected to the national grid after one of its four power lines was repaired. A week ago, the plant had been shut down over fears of a possible radiation disaster as the power lines had been cut amid heavy fighting in the area.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-shelling- civilian-infrastructure-izyum/32039878.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.