Calay News
An eight-year-old boy lost his life in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, in the west of the former Soviet republic, due to the impact of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, according to the Ukrainian attorney general’s statement reported via Telegram.
Although the area has seen few attacks since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, due to its location hundreds of kilometers from the front lines, it recently suffered this fatality.
The main fighting has centered in the south and east, where Russian forces have made significant gains in recent weeks. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the assault units of the “West” combat group continued their offensive operations in the direction of Kupiansk, improving the tactical situation on a broad front.
Although Russian troops had previously occupied the town of Kupiansk and its surroundings, they were driven out in a Kyiv-led counteroffensive in September 2022.
The Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of 37 towns in the district before the advance of Russian forces in the region. Despite the counteroffensive launched by Ukraine in June with the backing of Western powers, difficulties have been recognized in containing the resistance of Russian troops.
The Russian army has regularly shelled various Ukrainian towns, including some far from the front. In this context, Ukraine reported that Russia launched four Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, managing to intercept only one of them.
Remnants of the destroyed missile fell on two districts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, without causing significant damage. In turn, an attack in Zaporizhia left one fatality and 16 injured, affecting a hotel where foreign delegations usually stay.
The fight against corruption has been a priority in Ukraine, and President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dismissal of regional officials in charge of military recruitment as part of a campaign to eradicate this problem, a requirement established by the European Union (EU) for Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.
