Kíiv”We’ve gotten used to the bombings. Sometimes we don’t even wake up. But lately, even our strength is weakening. More than coffee, what really gives us energy in the morning is knowing that we’re still alive,” says one neighbor of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, located on the northern border with Russia. Near his house there are pieces of broken glass and remains of projectiles with the following phrase written: “For Crocus City Hall”, referring to the concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow where more than 140 people died in an attack on past March 22. Although the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, Russia continues to blame Ukraine. As a Russian proverb says: “Where there is a will, there is an excuse”.
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Kharkiv’s neighbors endure the Russian attacks with admirable stoicism. This is shown by videos on social networks where you can see, for example, how players on a football field throw themselves on the ground without losing their temper when there is a bombing, or how a group of women doing yoga collect their things in complete calm after the noise of an attack. But after more than two years of war, it seems the survival instinct is starting to fail.
The intensity of Russian bombing is now impossible to ignore. Since March, moreover, the main target has been infrastructure. This Thursday, Kremlin troops launched more than 40 missiles and nearly 40 attack drones against the electricity and gas grid, a more powerful offensive than the one in the fall of 2022. In addition, the attacks are now more precise and its most devastating consequences.
Kharkiv has experienced critical moments by being completely in the dark. Although the supply has been intermittently restored, the city’s mayor, Igor Terekhov, has acknowledged that the main energy facilities have been destroyed, affecting both electricity and heating.
Likewise, the Trypilska power plant, one of the largest in Ukraine, has also been bombed and lost 100% of its operational capacity, according to the company that owns it, Centrenergo. In fact, experts admit that it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover the state the energy system had before March 22. “Without enough missiles for anti-aircraft defense, all efforts are in vain,” company sources lamented.
Faced with an ever-increasing threat, Ukrainians are multiplying their messages on social networks asking that NATO “close the sky over Ukraine”, something they already unsuccessfully requested at the beginning of the war. At the time, however, the Atlantic Alliance countries did provide Ukraine with Patriot and IRIS-T missiles to intercept Russian projectiles, allowing the Ukrainians to sleep easier.
In the capital, Kyiv, the Ukrainian air defense was even the subject of poems or art expressions to thank for the protection it offers to the city. Now, however, the situation is less poetic. After the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasized that the resources of the Ukrainian air defense systems are critical, and he again asked the West for more weapons, instead of “closing our eyes and engaging in long debates.”
The intensity of Russian bombing is now impossible to ignore. Since March, moreover, the main target has been infrastructure
The Washington Post already reported what is obvious to the country: Missile supplies to protect cities are running out. This means that instead of intercepting four out of every five missiles that Russia fires at Ukraine, only one will be able to be stopped. Some experts even claim that “very soon” Ukraine will run out of missiles to protect the skies of big cities.
On his account of X, the journalist of Bild, Julian Röpke, declared this Thursday that the “very soon” has already arrived. “As I said a few weeks ago (and hardly anyone believed me): Ukraine has run out of Patriot and IRIS-T missiles. Most other air defense supplies have also been depleted or destroyed,” wrote the reporter
Röpke’s words have caught the attention of Ilya Yevlash, the spokesman for the Ukrainian air force who, without offering exact details about the resources available, has asked the Ukrainians to remain calm and assured that the allied countries are fully informed about the situation However, Yevlash has not hidden that the problem exists. “We must understand first of all that Ukraine does not independently produce these systems and projectiles. Obviously, we need more missiles,” he said. For their part, Russian officials have declared that they have evidence that Ukraine is running out of missiles and, for this reason, they have decided to intensify the attacks.
The blockade in the US
The main obstacle to obtaining new missiles is the blockade that the United States maintains on a $60 billion military aid package to Ukraine. This package must be approved by both houses of Congress: the Senate, controlled by Democrats; and the House of Representatives, in which the Republicans have a majority. Trump’s supporters in the House are seeking to stymie the Biden administration until the November election to portray him as an inept leader.
Recently President Zelenski has acknowledged that, without American support, it will be impossible to win the war. And the tragic reality is that bombings continue to destroy homes, factories and entire cities, collapse the economy and take lives in Ukraine.
2024-04-12 20:55:53
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