A Russian large-scale attack on Ukraine and a speech by Putin soon

Russia launched an intensive attack Friday with dozens of missiles and explosive drones on energy sites in Ukraine, according to what Ukraine announced, confirming that two missiles crossed the airspace of Romania, a member of NATO, which it denied.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced that no missile had crossed the country’s airspace, contrary to previous assurances by the commander of the Ukrainian army.

However, Bucharest indicated that two missiles had crossed 35 km from its territory, which necessitated sending two Air Force planes to enhance our response option.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that several missiles crossed the airspace of Moldova and Romania, denouncing Russia’s defiance to NATO.

For its part, Moldova, the former Soviet republic, which Thursday denounced Russian activities to destabilize it, summoned the Russian ambassador in protest at an unacceptable violation of its airspace.

The new Russian bombings of Ukraine come after President Volodymyr Zelensky made a European tour, during which he visited London, Paris and Brussels to urge his European allies to supply him with long-range missiles and combat aircraft.

Kiev has been warning for several days of a massive attack that the Russian army is preparing for, which has intensified military pressure on the front line in the east, where its forces are advancing slowly.

In this context, the pro-Russian official, Denis Pushilin, announced on Friday that progress had been made to northern Bakhmut, the current center of battles, where Moscow forces cut off a supply route to Ukraine, and in Vogledar, which is also under attack.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, on Friday, the Russian army launched 71 KH-101 and 555 missiles and Caliber cruise missiles, in addition to Iranian-made Shahid booby-trapped marches, of which 61 missiles were shot down.

Several explosions were heard, particularly in Kiev, according to France-Presse.

After the warning sirens sounded before noon, residents of Kiev took to the metro to take refuge from the Russian strikes.

After suffering a number of setbacks on the ground, Moscow has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on a regular basis since October, causing electricity and heating to be cut off for millions of Ukrainians in the middle of winter.

The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that ten missiles were dropped over the capital, noting that there were no victims, but rather, damage to the electrical network.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, sites were hit in six Ukrainian regions, with a particularly difficult situation recorded in Zaporizhia, Kharkivand Khmelnitsky.

In Zaporizhia, the secretary of the municipal council, Anatoly Kortev, wrote on Telegram that a part of the city is without electricity, in one hour, 17 strikes were recorded in the city, which is the largest number since the beginning of the Russian invasion, and he called on residents to steadfast.

Ukraine’s presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, wrote on Twitter, “Enough of political rhetoric and hesitation,” urging Ukraine’s allies to take quick, fundamental decisions on delivering powerful weapons to Ukraine.

The recent major Russian strikes date back to the end of January, following the Westerners’ decision to hand over heavy tanks to the Ukrainian army, especially German Leopard tanks.

This new wave comes in the wake of Zelensky’s European tour to demand long-range missiles and combat aircraft, which the Europeans and Americans haven’t yet agreed to for fear of an escalation with Moscow.

Only the British opened the door to the possibility of delivering weapons, but in the long term.

“We want to get these planes that we need, and there are agreements that aren’t public,” Zelensky said on Thursday, without giving any details.

In Russia, which closely monitors arms supplies to Ukraine, the Kremlin announced Friday that President Vladimir Putin will deliver his state of the nation address on February 21, three days before the anniversary of the invasion.

Western countries imposed a series of economic sanctions on Moscow, the latest of which was setting a limit on the price of Russian oil, targeting the country’s revenues.

Russia responded on Friday, announcing that it would reduce its oil production in March by half a million barrels per day, or about 5% of its daily production, which caused an increase in oil prices in global markets.