US President Joe Biden has condemned the atrocities of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched indiscriminate missile attacks on Ukraine on the 10th (local time). Major countries, such as the United States and Germany, have promised to continue providing military support to Ukraine, including advanced air defense systems. Russia, whose pride was trampled upon by the Crimean Bridge explosion, fired more than 80 missiles across Ukraine on the same day.
○Biden criticizes ‘brutal Putin’
President Biden said in a statement that “Russia’s missile attack again demonstrates the brutality of Mr Putin’s illegal war against the Ukrainian people.” “This kind of attack only reinforces our promise to be with the Ukrainian people, no matter how long it takes,” he said.
President Biden said in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would continue to provide support necessary for Ukraine’s own defense, including advanced air defense systems.
Germany, which has been criticized for its delayed support, also decided to deliver an advanced air defense system to Ukraine soon. Germany’s Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on the same day that “in a few days, we will provide one of the four IRIS-T SLM air defense systems that we agreed to provide to Ukraine (last June).”
Countries have expressed their willingness to provide military aid to Ukraine because Russia has begun ‘bloody retaliation’ against Ukraine. According to CNN, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army announced on the same day that the Russian army fired more than 80 cruise missiles in one day, 43 of which were intercepted by air defense systems. The Russian attack was the largest since the start of the war in late February, the Wall Street Journal reported. At least 14 people were killed and 97 injured.
Missiles flew across Ukraine. A missile that fell into the city center of Kiiwu, the capital, around 8 am on the same day struck citizens on their way to work. Twelve cities were targeted, including Lviv in western Ukraine, Kharkiv in northeast and Zaporiza in south-central Ukraine.
○ Cornered Putin launches retaliatory attack
It is analyzed that Russia’s massive airstrike is retaliation for the Crimean Bridge explosion on the 8th. Putin also admitted that the attack was carried out in retaliation. “The Crimean Bridge explosion is an act of terrorism in Ukraine,” he said at a security meeting on the same day, warning that “if these things continue on our territory, we will respond harshly.”
The Crimean Bridge is a bridge connecting Crimea, which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014, and the Russian mainland, and served as a key supply route for the Russian military. When it opened in 2018, President Putin drove a truck across the Crimean Bridge. As the iconic Crimean Bridge exploded, discontent among the Russian hardliners increased. When the Crimean Bridge was even destroyed while the Russian army was being pushed back by the Ukrainian counterattack, voices that could not stand still grew louder.
The New York Times analyzed that “President Putin is facing hardline pressure after the loss of territories occupied by Russian forces in the south and east of Ukraine recently.”
The emergency video conference between President Zelensky and the leaders of the G7 countries to be held on the 11th is also expected to discuss support measures for Ukraine. The United Nations held an emergency special meeting at its headquarters in New York on the 10th to discuss a resolution condemning Russia’s forced annexation of occupied territories in Ukraine. A vote on the resolution is expected to take place on the 12th or 13th, Archyde.com reported.
Reporter Semin Heo [email protected]