War in Ukraine: the toll of the Russian strike increases in Dnipro

Europe1 .fr with AFP 6:41 a.m., January 17, 2023, modified at 6:44 a.m., January 17, 2023

THE ESSENTIAL

The toll of a Russian strike on a residential building in Dnipro in Ukraine, one of the highest since the start of the war, is likely to increase further on Tuesday, after climbing to 40 dead the day before.

Vladimir Putin for his part denounced the increasing deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine, the Kremlin swearing that the tanks promised to kyiv "will burn" on the battlefield.

Moscow has denied being responsible for the carnage at Dnipro and blamed the Ukrainians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of a "tragedy" that could be due to a shot by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense.

The Swedish presidency of the European Union has denounced "a Russian war crime".

A new example of "suspicion of violations of the law of war", reacted for his part the secretary general of the UN Antonio Guterres. 

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Monday, almost 48 hours after a missile ripped open a building on the Quai de la Victoire in Dnipro (east), 40 dead and 77 injured had been counted, according to the emergency services.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised that "everyone guilty of this war crime would be identified and brought to justice".

"There is no doubt," he said Monday in his evening address.

Cranes hoisted rescuers into ravaged apartments or lifted slabs of concrete.

In the rubble, rescue teams were looking for 25 missing people, authorities said.

"The rescue operation, the demolition of the rubble, will not end until the bodies of all the dead are found," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, adding that "several (injured) are in serious condition, including a child.

In this place of desolation, people laid flowers and stuffed animals in memory of the victims.

Other residents of Dnipro brought clothes or duvets to a collection point set up by humanitarian workers.

Around 40 people were rescued from the ruins of the building.

"More than 200 apartments were destroyed, and our most important task is to resettle all the people and help rebuild this building," Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

In an interview with CNN, the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, assured that the Russians had not managed to break the spirit of resistance of the Ukrainians.

"We lasted almost a year, we can last longer," she said, stressing that now "the country's children can tell the difference between the sound of a rocket, a drone and the anti-aircraft defence".

The main information:

- The toll of a Russian strike on a residential building in Dnipro in Ukraine, one of the highest since the start of the war, is likely to increase further on Tuesday, after having climbed to 40 dead the day before. 

- Moscow has denied being responsible for the carnage in Dnipro and blamed the Ukrainians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of a "tragedy" that could be due to a shot by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense.

- Vladimir Putin has denounced the growing supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine, with the Kremlin swearing that the tanks promised to kyiv will "burn" on the battlefield.

- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, arrived in Ukraine on Monday to install a new system that provides for the permanent presence of experts in the country's four operating nuclear power plants, as well as Chernobyl.

"Western Godfathers"

The Kremlin took two days to react to the strike on the Dnipro building.

"The Russian armed forces are not bombing residential buildings or civilian infrastructure, they are bombing military targets," Dmitry Peskov said, despite the strikes that have already hit scores of civilian targets since the start of the invasion. February 24.  

Faced with this rain of missiles and the threat of a new major Russian offensive, Westerners have intensified their military aid to Ukraine.

A meeting on Western arms deliveries to kyiv is scheduled for January 20 at the American base in Ramstein (Germany).

Vladimir Putin denounced, in a conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "the destructive line adopted by the kyiv regime which has bet on the intensification of the fighting, with the support of its Western sponsors who are increasing their arms deliveries and military equipment" to the Ukrainians.

"These tanks are burning and will burn," Dmitry Peskov had told reporters earlier.

US Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman traveled to Kyiv on Monday where she met with Volodymyr Zelensky, assuring him of Washington's "strong and unwavering commitment" to Ukraine. 

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A large delegation of Ukrainians, led by Olena Zelenska, is going to Davos (Switzerland) this week to convince the Westerners gathered for the World Economic Summit to deliver more weapons to them.

"That's why I'm here," said kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Monday, adding that it is "essential to make personal connections" to achieve this.

On Saturday, London announced the supply to kyiv of Challenger 2, which would be the first delivery of Western-made heavy tanks to Ukraine.

Warsaw said it was waiting for a green light from Germany to deliver German-made Leopard tanks.

Across the Atlantic, Ukrainian soldiers arrived at a military base in Oklahoma, United States, on Sunday to train in the use of the Patriot air defense system, which Washington will supply to kyiv .

The IAEA in Ukraine

In a speech in The Hague, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was in favor on Monday of the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute the Russian leaders, assuring "that a war of aggression would not go unpunished".

For his part, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, arrived in Ukraine on Monday to install a new system which provides for the permanent presence of experts in the country's four nuclear power plants. in operation, as well as in Chernobyl.

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War in Ukraine: logistics, the main problem for Russian troops

The aim is "to ensure that the facilities so important for the country, especially in these difficult times, continue to operate normally", he said from the South Ukraine powerhouse.