Russia hits military facility in Ukraine
Russia yesterday said its military had hit Ukrainian air bases in overnight strikes and Ukrainian forces had shelled industrial facilities inside Russia as both sides sought the upper hand ahead of what Kyiv hopes will be a decisive counter-offensive.
In a rare acknowledgement of damage to a military "target", Ukraine said that work was under way to restore a runway and that five aircraft were taken out of service in the western region of Khmelnitskiy, although it did not name the site or sites.
A large military airfield was located in the region before the war. "At the moment, work is continuing to contain fires in storage facilities for fuel and lubricants and munitions," the Khmelnitskiy region governor's office said.
Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited the defence ministry as saying more than one air base was hit, but there was no confirmation from Ukraine of damage to any other air bases.
The Ukrainian capital came under attack for the 16th time this month in the morning after a second successive night of bombardments. But officials said most of the drones and missiles fired overnight had been shot down and no targets were hit in the morning.
Ukraine's military said an attack on Odesa port had caused a fire and damaged infrastructure but did not specify whether the damage threatened grain exports.
Ukraine has stepped up drone and sabotage attacks against targets inside Russia as it prepares for the counteroffensive. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said several frontier settlements were shelled simultaneously by Ukrainian forces yesterday.
Two industrial facilities were hit in the town of Shebekino and four employees were wounded, Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.
Russia said yesterday that the Black Sea grain deal would no longer be operational unless a UN agreement with Moscow to overcome obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports was fulfilled.
This month Moscow reluctantly agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal until July 17, but said more progress had to be made to advance its own interests.
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