In a telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – who is completing a visit this week to European capitals, including a speech to the European Parliament – also stated that “a number of Russian missiles flew over the airspace of Moldova and Romania”, it was “a challenge to NATO, collective security.”
“This is terrorism that can and must be stopped. Stopped by the whole world,” Zelensky wrote.
However, the Romanian Ministry of DefenseHowever, said that it had detected “an airborne target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation, near the Crimean Peninsula, most likely a cruise missile,” flying over Ukrainian territory, then enter Moldova.
Rocket “And re-entered Ukrainian airspace without intersecting, at any time, Romania’s airspace,” the defense ministry said.
“The closest point in the target’s trajectory to Romanian airspace recorded by the radar system is about 35 km northeast of the border,” the ministry said, adding that at 10:38 a.m., two MiG fighters -21 Lancer “has been diverted to the northern region of Romania for additional response options.”
“After about two minutes, the situation was cleared up,” the ministry said in its statement, “and the two aircraft resumed their original mission.”
Throughout the war, the NATO nations provided Ukraine with vast amounts of weapons, intelligence and economic support but did their best to avoid any sign of direct conflict with Russia.
In a statement posted on his Telegram channel, Zaluzhny said that “at 10:18 a.m., two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles crossed the Ukrainian border with the Republic of Moldova. At about 10:33 a.m., these missiles crossed Romanian airspace. Then they entered Ukrainian airspace again at the intersection of the borders of the three countries.
While Romania denies that account, Moldovan officials have confirmed the violation of their airspace.
In response, Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu ordered an “urgent summons” of the Russian Ambassador to Chisinau, Oleg Vasnetsov, “to point out the unacceptable violation of our airspace… by a Russian missile today,” a ministry statement said.
“We strongly reject the recent unfriendly actions and statements regarding the Republic of Moldova, a fact that is considered completely unacceptable by our people,” a ministry spokesman said. Daniel Voda said. “We call on the Russian Federation to stop its military aggression against the neighboring country, which is causing a lot of loss of life and property.”
Asked about Ukraine’s allegations, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s spokesman referred to the Romanian Defense Ministry statement.
Friday’s bombardment was the latest salvo in Russia’s campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure – a four-month effort aimed at destroying the country’s economy and degrading it. weaken the will of the people to fight by depriving them of light and heat in winter. The attacks also appear to be coordinated with the expected Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, which officials say has begun in the past few days, targeting key cities in the east.
Zaluzhny posted on Telegram that Kremlin forces launched 71 cruise missiles, 7 self-destructing drones and about 35 surface-to-air missiles from S-300 missile systems in the morning. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 61 cruise missiles and five drones, Zaluzhny said.
Ukrainian officials said the attack hit targets across the country. Air raid warnings sounded regularly throughout the night and Friday and multiple explosions could be heard in the capital and surrounding suburbs.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko wrote on Telegram that the capital’s air defenses shot down 10 missiles, but the Russians still managed to damage the power grid. However, there were no casualties, Klitschko said.
Regional head Oleh Synyehuvbov said on Ukrainian television that heavy shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv had severely damaged vital infrastructure and wounded eight people. About 150,000 people are without electricity.
Anatolii Kurtiev, secretary of the city council in the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia – where Russian forces are partially concentrating the offensive – said the city was hit by 17 missiles in an hour.
“This is the largest number since the beginning of a full-scale invasion,” he wrote on Telegram, “This is all this army of scum can do – bombard a sleeping city and attack our infrastructure.” He said the number of victims and the extent of the damage were still being worked out.
