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A Ukrainian soldier looks at a damaged Russian military plane on Snake Island on Sunday
Photo:
Michael Shtekel / dpa
What has happened in the past few hours
The latest Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital's infrastructure has again severely affected the power supply in Kyiv.
The electricity deficit has increased to 50 percent, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Monday evening in Kyiv.
The repair work on the damaged lines and electrical stations continued.
In addition to electricity, the residents of Kyiv and the surrounding area are increasingly having to do without the Internet.
In this area, too, access has fallen to almost 50 percent as a result of the latest Russian attack, network observer Netblocks said in the evening.
Meanwhile, a senior US diplomat said Russian attacks on infrastructure in Ukraine had not weakened the will of the people there to resist.
"I think this strategic bombing campaign has clearly failed in trying to break the will of the Ukrainian people," said Geoffrey Pyatt, undersecretary at the US State Department and former US Embassy in Ukraine.
He came back from a visit there three days ago.
At the same time, it is clear that more needs to be done to help the government in Kyiv maintain the power grid.
That says Kyiv
Russian forces have already lost nearly 100,000 soldiers since the invasion of Ukraine began, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
»So far there are almost 99,000 soldiers.
In a few days, the occupier's losses will increase to 100,000," Zelensky said in his video speech on Monday evening.
It means dead soldiers.
'And for what?
No one in Moscow has the answer."
Russia attacked the neighboring country on February 24.
Tuesday is the 300th day of the war.
Those responsible in Moscow waged war and "wasted human lives - the lives of other people, not that of their relatives, not their own lives, but that of others," Zelenskyj said.
"And that's only because a group in the Kremlin doesn't know how to admit mistakes and is terribly afraid of reality." But the reality speaks for itself.
For security reasons, the two sides are not providing precise information on the losses of the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces.
However, Western military officials recently put the number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded at well over 100,000.
Zelenskyy's adviser Mykhailo Podoliak recently put the number of Ukrainian casualties at 13,000.
Moscow says so
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on his country's security forces to do more in all areas.
»Today we have a dynamically changing situation in the world.
New risks and threats bring increased demands on Russia's entire security system," he said in a video speech on Tuesday night.
This means that the security organs "must increase their efforts, especially in the decisive directions".
The reason for the speech was the so-called Day of the Security Forces of Russia.
One of the most important tasks of the security forces is to protect the citizens of the "new regions" of Russia.
This meant the parts of Ukraine annexed by Moscow in violation of international law.
In fact, the situation in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions is "extremely difficult," Putin said.
"But the people who live there, all Russian citizens, hope for your protection."
In order to protect the security, rights and freedoms of these people, according to Putin, Russia will "equip new units with the latest technology and weapons, as well as with experienced personnel".
Russia has violently seized and occupied large parts of these areas in its war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on since February, and is now trying to defend them against Ukrainian counterattacks.
Putin also called on the security forces to take more energetic and decisive action against the activities of foreign intelligence services.
Above all, maximum determination of military counter-espionage is required here.
"The actions of foreign secret services must be suppressed immediately," said the Kremlin chief.
Traitors, saboteurs and spies must be caught.
On Monday, Putin visited Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk for the first time in three years.
The head of the Kremlin then declared that Russia had "no interest" in annexing neighboring Belarus.
"It just wouldn't make sense," Putin said at a press conference in Minsk when asked by a journalist.
International reactions
In the UN Security Council, Germany sharply criticized the delivery of Iranian weapons to Russia for the war of aggression against Ukraine.
"Iranian combat drones have given Russia additional opportunities to attack civilian infrastructure and terrorize Ukrainian civilians," said German UN ambassador Antje Leendertse in New York on Monday.
She advocated that the United Nations Secretariat-General accept Ukrainian invitations to conduct on-the-spot investigations into evidence of Iran's role.
Meanwhile, the United States accused UN Secretary-General António Guterres of "apparently giving in to Russian threats" and not sending officials to Ukraine to inspect the drones that may have come from Iran.
"We are disappointed that the Secretariat, which appears to have given in to Russian threats, did not carry out the investigation mandate given by the Council," said Deputy US Envoy Robert Wood.
Guterres said the allegation "will be looked at in the larger context of everything we're doing related to the war to determine if and when we should send officers to Kyiv."
Russia denies using Iranian drones in Ukraine.
There is also no mandate for UN officials to travel to Kyiv to investigate the origin of the drones.
Iran has admitted delivering drones to Moscow before Russia invaded Ukraine.
aar/dpa/Reuters
