Russia Vows More Ukraine Strikes As Germany Pledges Aid

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

KYIV/MOSCOW (Worthy News) – Russia pledged Sunday to intensify strikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to increase attacks on Russian oil refineries.

The threats came as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv, where air-raid sirens wailed as the Ukraine-Russia war increasingly targets critical infrastructure in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces would step up attacks on military facilities, defense-industry sites and related infrastructure in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine.

The announcement followed an interview with Zelenskyy in which he said Ukraine would intensify attacks on Russian oil refineries in response to Moscow’s expanding aerial campaign.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not deliberately target civilians but argued that Kyiv had to respond to Russian attacks on bridges and other infrastructure.

KYIV BRIDGES TARGETED

Russia has recently escalated strikes on infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital, including bridges across the Dnipro River, seriously disrupting life for Kyiv’s roughly 3 million residents as winter approaches.

Another Russian strike hit Kyiv’s Northern Bridge on Sunday, with video circulating online appearing to show a drone exploding on the bridge as vehicles crossed. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were wounded.

Russian attacks since Thursday have forced the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges, disrupting traffic and transportation across the Ukrainian capital.

Moscow said the Northern Bridge was being used to transport Ukrainian troops and military cargo. Russia’s Defense Ministry also claimed Sunday that its forces struck two cargo vessels carrying military equipment near the Black Sea port of Odesa.

The ministry said its broader campaign was retaliation for what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets inside Russia. Both Moscow and Kyiv deny deliberately targeting civilians.

SCHOOL ESCAPES DISASTER

The intensifying aerial campaign has also struck other sensitive targets. In recent days, a Russian drone hit a school in Kyiv while students and staff sheltered from the attack.

The drone’s roughly 50-kilogram (110-pound) warhead failed to detonate after penetrating the building, and bomb-disposal experts later removed it. Ukrainian authorities said an explosion could have caused much more extensive damage to the four-story school.

The escalating air war has also affected neighboring Moldova. Moldovan authorities said three missiles and two drones involved in Russia’s latest assault on Ukraine entered Moldovan airspace Friday and exploded near populated areas in four districts.

The incidents caused fires and material damage but no reported casualties, prompting Moldova to summon Russia’s ambassador-designate and formally protest what it called a serious violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Moldovan authorities said the incidents followed repeated violations of the country’s airspace linked to Russian attacks on neighboring Ukraine.

GERMANY PLEDGES MORE AID

Against that backdrop, Merz announced more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in additional German assistance to Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv.

About 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) will be military aid, including long-range strike weapons, combat drones and satellite technology, while roughly 350 million euros ($395 million) will support generators, substations and other energy infrastructure ahead of winter.

Germany will also finance joint production of drones designed to intercept Russia’s increasingly sophisticated jet-powered drones, Merz said.

Zelenskyy said Russia had launched about 900 jet-powered drones during the past week and that Ukrainian forces had intercepted only around half of them. He stressed that additional air defenses remained a priority.

“This is weaponry that will help right now,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media following talks with Merz.

MERZ CONDEMNS ATTACKS

Merz and Zelenskyy later visited the damaged National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in central Kyiv, where two people were killed in a Russian attack Monday.

Air-raid sirens sounded during their visit as Merz condemned Russia’s attacks and appealed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

“These barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop,” Merz said. “Mr. Putin, put an end to this senseless war.”

Merz said Germany would not be intimidated into abandoning Ukraine and warned that Russian aggression presented a wider threat to Europe.

Germany has emerged as one of Ukraine’s largest supporters, providing more than 43 billion euros ($48 billion) in assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

U.S. PROPOSES TALKS

Yet amid the escalating attacks, Zelenskyy revealed that the United States had proposed a trilateral technical-level meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States by the end of October, potentially in the United Arab Emirates.

Zelenskyy said he told U.S. negotiators Saturday that Ukraine was prepared to participate and that Kyiv was now awaiting Moscow’s response.

He accused Russia of avoiding meaningful peace negotiations while saying Ukraine and Germany were working to advance diplomatic efforts with European participation.

The potential talks come despite little sign of an immediate breakthrough in efforts to end a war that has caused more than two million military casualties, including those killed, wounded or missing, while killing and injuring tens of thousands of civilians and displacing millions more.

Fighting continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front stretching through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine, while increasingly powerful drone and missile campaigns have extended the conflict far beyond the battlefield.