Russian missile attacks struck civilian infrastructure in cities across Ukraine yesterday in the worst barrage of shelling since the start of the beginning of the invasion in February.
During the busy Monday morning commute, dozens of missiles and drones tore into Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other cities across the country, including Kharkiv in the east, Lviv and Zhytomyr in the west, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine and Zaporizhia in the south, according to news outlets.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks were targeted and timed to kill civilians headed to school and work as well as damage Ukraine’s power grid, leaving residents without power or heat.
At least 14 people have been confirmed dead and a further 97 injured in the strikes, according to comments made Monday evening by Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised speech that the strikes on Ukrainian cities were a response to Saturday’s attack on the Kerch Strait bridge linking the illegally occupied Crimea to Russia, threatening more attacks in the future if Ukraine hit Russian land.
Source: Radio Poland, PAP, Reuters
The international community has been swift to condemn yesterday’s attacks, with US and EU leaders reaffirming their support for Ukraine in the face of Russian „brutality and terror.”
In a statement issued by the White House, US President Joe Biden pointed to the Russian attacks as proof of „the utter brutality of Putin’s illegal war against the Ukrainian people.”
Biden went on to promise that the attacks would only „further strengthen [the US] commitment to support the Ukrainian people,” vowing to „hold Putin and Russia accountable for their atrocities and war crimes, and deliver the support needed by the Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that she was „shocked and appalled by the vicious attacks on Ukrainian cities,” promising the EU would „stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, with all the means we have.”
Shortly after the attacks, Polish President Andrzej Duda held „urgent consultations” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Zelensky later tweeting that the two countries „had coordinated steps” and „will work on consolidating international support, strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities, restoring the destroyed, as well as increasing Russia’s isolation.”
Source: Radio Poland, Reuters, PAP
In response to mounting Russian defeats and losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin named General Sergei Surovikin as the new overall commander for forces in Ukraine.
The appointment, announced by the Russian defense ministry last Saturday, marks Moscow’s third senior military appointment in the space of a week after a series of setbacks in its military campaign in Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported.
Surovikin previously commanded a division stationed in Chechnya in 2004 and was awarded a medal for his service in Syria in 2017. According to reports by international monitoring agency Human Rights Watch, Russian forces under his command in Syria were directly responsible for bombing „homes, schools, healthcare facilities, and markets – the places where people live, work, and study.”
Surovikin apparently wasted no time taking advantage of his recent promotion, with one former Russian defense official interviewed by The Guardian saying he was „not surprised” by Monday’s attacks in Ukraine as „Surovikin is absolutely ruthless, with little regard for human life.”
Source: Radio Poland, The Guardian
Captain Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, a world-renowned sailor and shipbuilding engineer who passed away last year in Gdańsk, was honored with a memorial plaque in Gdynia over the weekend.
Chojnowska-Liskiewicz made history as the first woman to complete a solo journey around the world on a sailing yacht, a feat which earned her membership in the elite Explorers Club in New York and a spot in the Guinness Book of Records.
From 1976 to 1978, she sailed over 31,000 (31,166) nautical miles alone on board the yacht „Mazurek,” a yacht designed by her husband and custom-built in Poland.
A graduate of the Gdańsk University of Technology, she was known throughout her life for her love of the sea and sailing, which she actively promoted as a member of the Academic Sea Club and a jury member for the Rejs Roku and Kolosy awards.
According to author Paulina Reiter, a biography of Captain Chojnowska-Liskiewicz is due to be published next year, with the title as yet unknown.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be mostly sunny with a few clouds in the afternoon and a gentle breeze from the west. Temperatures will peak around a high of 14°C, or 57°F, dropping to a low of 8°C or 46°F overnight. Similar weather is expected for tomorrow, with a chance for some rain returning on Friday or Saturday.
Elizabeth Peck
