▲ Industrial buildings destroyed after missile strike in Odessa


Amid preparations for a major Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia has launched a barrage of missiles targeting major cities.

In Russian-occupied Crimea, a train derailment occurred suspected of destroying Russian military supply lines in Ukraine.

According to AFP and the Associated Press, the Russian military also launched cruise and ballistic missile attacks on various places, including Kyiv, the capital of northern Ukraine, on the 18th (local time).

Cruise missiles can adjust their course after launch to hit targets with precision, and Russia has used them in airstrikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Two people are said to have been killed in the airstrike.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russian forces fired 2 missiles on land, sea and air, including ground bases, the Black Sea Fleet and strategic bombers, killing one person each in the southern port city of Odessa and Kharkiv in the northeast.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces said they intercepted 30 of them through their air defenses and also shot down two self-destructing drones and two reconnaissance drones.

Russia has been carrying out missile strikes on Ukraine since last fall, and in recent years it has been carried out with "unusual" intensity and force, according to Ukraine.

The airstrike was the ninth this month alone.

According to Western media, contrary to the observation that Ukraine has weak air defenses in the first place, it has recently been assessed that it has been leading the way in Russian air strikes.

The observation is that Western-backed weapons play a role in protecting infrastructure and people.

Earlier, Ukraine and the United States said that in recent air strikes, they shot down a Russian Kinzhal missile with Ukraine's Patriot missile air defense system.

In response, Russia claims that it cannot shoot down a hypersonic missile with any weapons.

In the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa, a missile hit an industrial infrastructure, killing one person and injuring two others.

Odessa is Ukraine's largest export port on the Black Sea, where grain ships to all parts of the world depart from it.

The airstrikes came shortly after Türkiye-mediated a two-month extension of an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to safely transport grain through the Black Sea.

One person was also killed and two wounded in a missile strike in the village of Chirkuni, Kharkiv Oblast.

In the capital, Kyiv, several explosions were thundered in the northeastern Destansky district.

The head of Kyiv's military administration, Serigei Popko, said Russia had attacked the Caspian Sea with strategic bombers such as TU-1MS and TU-29.

Popko added that Russia deployed reconnaissance drones over Kyiv after launching the attack.

A missile attack was reported in Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, and an explosion was reported in Khmelnytsky.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed it was aimed at "foreign weapons and equipment, not just enemy (Ukraine), but also at all targets."


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Attacks believed to be Ukrainian counterattacks have also been witnessed.

In Russian-occupied Crimea, there was also a train derailment that appeared to have been caused by an explosion earlier in the day.

The head of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, Sergei Aksyonov, said the train carrying grain had derailed, and a local railway operator said the accident was "caused by the intervention of a third party."

A local councillor said the accident was caused by an explosive device, without providing any evidence.

Earlier this month, an explosion derailed a train on the border between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine refuses to comment on possible sabotage (sabotage) in its own country.

Ukraine is said to be focused on destroying Russian forces' supply chains ahead of a counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territory.

The Russian airstrikes and train accident came shortly after the extension of the Black Sea grain deal for the seaborne export of Ukrainian grain was narrowly reached.

It was also the day when the leaders of the Group of Seven (G3) major economies began to gather in Japan for the summit.

The G7 Summit, which will be held from 7 to 19 May, is expected to discuss further strengthening economic pressure on Russia.

(Photo = AFP, EPA, Yonhap News)