Ukraine war in the blog | Russia: Ukraine wanted to attack Putin with drones

Day 433 since the beginning of the war: In Russia, a fuel depot caught fire near Crimea. Authorities cordon off the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson for more than two days. All information in the blog.

5:01 p.m.: The US cannot confirm Russia’s accusation that Ukraine tried to attack the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin. “We just don’t know,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Washington Post.

Asked if the US would criticize Ukraine if it decided to retaliate on Russian territory, Blinken replied that those were decisions Ukraine had to make. The United States is confident that Ukraine will be able to recapture more of its own territories. The war in Ukraine is already a strategic failure for Russia.

4:43 p.m.: According to Ukrainian sources, 16 people were killed in Russian attacks in the Cherson region on Wednesday. At least seven dead had previously been reported (see previous post, 4:05 p.m.).

4:05 p.m.: At least seven people have been killed by Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson. At least eight other people were injured, the region’s military governor, Olexander Prokudin, said on Telegram on Wednesday. In the regional capital, a hardware store and the train station came under fire.

According to the railway, a carriage of the train to Lviv was also hit and a conductor was injured. At the time, the passengers were in a protective cellar. Five other towns in the area were shelled, Prokudin said. He had previously announced an almost three-day curfew in Kherson for the coming weekend.

Russia invaded Ukraine more than 14 months ago and occupied large parts of the Cherson region for several months. Last November, Russian troops retreated south-east across the Dnipro River. The Dnipro is currently the front line.

3:05 p.m: Ukraine has denied Russia’s accusation that it tried to attack the Kremlin in Moscow and assassinate President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has nothing to do with this, said Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The 51-year-old wrote on Twitter: “Why? That doesn’t solve a military problem.”

Such an approach would not benefit Ukraine on the battlefield and would only provoke Russia to take “more radical measures”. Russia’s statement could indicate that it is preparing to launch a major “terrorist” attack on Ukraine in the coming days.

For example, an underground resistance group could be behind the drones over the Kremlin territory, Podoljak said. After all, drones of this type can be bought everywhere. “Something is happening in Russia, but without Ukraine’s drones over the Kremlin.”

2:44 p.m.: The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, assumes that Ukraine’s expected counter-offensive has already begun. His troops are seeing increased activity at the front, Prigozhin said in a statement released via Telegram. The “active phase” of the counteroffensive would begin in the coming days.