Kharkov attacked by Russian missiles
At least 47 people, including five children, were injured on September 1 after Russian missiles hit a shopping mall and events complex in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, officials confirmed.
Earlier in the day, Russia said Kiev had launched one of its biggest drone attacks since the start of full-scale war, targeting power plants and an oil refinery, while Russian forces continued to make further gains in the direction of a key town in eastern Ukraine.
The Kharkiv offensive has prompted President Zelensky to call on allies to allow Kiev to launch Western-supplied missiles deeper into enemy territory and reduce the military threat posed by Russia. The fighting comes at a crucial moment in the 2 1/2-year conflict. Russia is waging an offensive in eastern Ukraine while trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces that crossed Russia’s western border in a surprise attack on Aug. 6.
Kiev is also pressing the United States and other allies to allow the use of more powerful Western-supplied weapons to inflict greater damage inside Russia and deter Moscow from attacking Ukraine. Mr. Zelensky appealed to countries on his Telegram channel in response to the Kharkiv attack, which Ukrainian officials said involved at least 10 missiles.
“This does not require extraordinary force, but rather enough courage on the part of leaders – the courage to give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself,” President Zelensky stressed.
Earlier, Russian officials said air defense units destroyed 158 drones launched by Ukraine overnight and that the debris caused fires at the Moscow Oil Refinery and the Konakovo Power Plant in the neighboring Tver region.
Kiev has yet to comment on the drone strikes. Russia rarely discloses the full extent of damage caused by Ukrainian airstrikes.
President Zelensky said that last week alone, Russia used 160 missiles, 780 guided bombs and 400 drones to attack cities and troops across Ukraine. He called on Western countries to "decide on long-range strikes on missile launch sites from Russia, destroy Russian military logistics, jointly shoot down missiles and drones."
Kiev's allies are wary of how Russian President Putin would react if their weapons were used against targets deep inside Russian territory.
Russia's TASS news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that Moscow would change its nuclear doctrine in response to Western actions related to the conflict. He did not specify what the changes would include.
Russia's current nuclear doctrine, outlined in a 2020 presidential decree, states that Moscow may use nuclear weapons in the event of an enemy nuclear or conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.
Some hardliners among Russian military analysts have urged Putin to lower the threshold for nuclear use to “bring Russia’s enemies in the West to their senses”./.