Russia launches more rockets at Kyiv

 Washington Examiner:

Multiple explosions took place in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday morning when four missiles hit the city's Shevchenkivskyi district.

The strikes on Kyiv by Russian missiles were the first in roughly three weeks. Russia's military, which launched its brutal invasion in late February, had since focused its efforts on the southern and eastern regions of the country. The latest attacks could signal a new attempt by Moscow to retake the western cities it had previously failed to capture.

RUSSIA TO PLACE NUCLEAR-CAPABLE MISSILES IN BELARUS

News of the blasts first emerged through images and videos posted to social media showing smoke rising up from several buildings. Within minutes, local media began reporting that a total of four missiles had hit the historic district, which is home to numerous universities, restaurants, art galleries, and other attractions.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that authorities were responding to the strikes in a post on the Telegram messaging app, writing: "Ambulance crews and rescuers dispatched to the scene. More detailed information - later. Residents are being rescued and evacuated from two buildings."

Russia began invading Ukraine in late February and has turned millions of women and children into refugees fleeing the violence. The bloodshed has also killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians and an unknown number of Russians. President Joe Biden and other major Western leaders condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal as devastation mounted across the European country. Reacting to the missile strikes on Sunday, Biden, who was in Germany for a G-7 summit, called it "more of their barbarism," according to a press pool report.

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The depravity of the Russian leadership is being exposed by their war against Ukraine civilians.  Putin's attempt to reconstitute the Soviet empire is a bloody mess. 

See, also at ISW:

Russian forces conducted a massive missile strike against the Schevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv on June 26, likely to coincide with the ongoing summit of G7 leaders.[1] This is the first such major strike on Kyiv since late April and is likely a direct response to Western leaders discussing aid to Ukraine at the ongoing G7 summit, much like the previous strikes on April 29 during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Kyiv.[2] Ukrainian government sources reported that Russian forces targeted infrastructure in the Shevchenkivskyi district using X101 missiles fired from Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers over the Caspian Sea and noted the Russian attack was an attempt to “show off” their capabilities.[3] Open-source Twitter account GeoConfirmed stated that the strikes targeted the general vicinity of the Artem State Joint-Stock Holding Company, a manufacturer of air-to-air missiles, automated air-guided missile training and maintenance systems, anti-tank guided missiles, and aircraft equipment.[4] GeoConfirmed noted that Russian forces likely fired the missiles from the maximum possible range, which would have interfered with GPS and radar correlation and resulted in the strike hitting civilian infrastructure, and additionally hypothesized some of the missiles may have been fired from Russian-occupied southern Ukraine.[5] Russian forces likely targeted the Artem Plant as a means of posturing against Western military aid to Ukraine during the G7 summit and inflicted additional secondary damage to residential infrastructure.[6]

The Kremlin continues to manipulate Russian legislation to carry out “covert mobilization” to support operations in Ukraine without conducting full mobilization. The Russian State Duma announced plans to review an amendment to the law on military service on June 28 that would allow military officials to offer contracts to young men immediately upon “coming of age” or graduating high school, thus circumventing the need to complete military service as conscripts.[7] Head of the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Kyrylo Budanov stated on June 25 that the Kremlin is carrying out “covert mobilization” and that due to continuous Russian mobilization efforts, Ukrainian forces cannot wait for the Russians to exhaust their offensive potential before launching counteroffensives.[8] Budanov remarked that the Kremlin has already committed 330,000 personnel to the war, which constitutes over a third of the entirety of the Russian Armed Forces, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin will face substantial domestic and social opposition if he increases this number by carrying out general (as opposed to covert) mobilization, as ISW has previously assessed.
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