Lauren C. Moye, FISM News
Another weekend has brought another onslaught of Russian missiles launched throughout Ukraine, damaging the fragile power grid once more.
On Friday, Ukraine’s armed forces announced that Russian forces had fired over 100 missiles, staged 12 air attacks, and initiated 20 shelling attacks. A Twitter post by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry states that 61 of 71 cruise missiles were shot down.
While a downed Shahed falls in this video, you have a chance to make a wish. pic.twitter.com/SIWLXcTHuk
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) February 10, 2023
Still, the strikes damaged power facilities in six Ukrainian regions. This caused another round of massive rolling blackouts.
On Saturday, leading energy producer DTEK said that three major regions along with the capital city of Kyiv would not undergo extra power cuts today. Energy authorities continue to work to repair damage to the power grids following the strikes.
BATTLEFIELD REPORTS IN DONETSK REGION
The Wagner Group head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said earlier today that the Russian-based mercenary force had captured the village of Krasna Hora. This village is on the northern edge of Bakhmut, which has seen heavy fighting for months now.
“Today the settlement of Krasna Hora was taken by the assault troops of the Wagner private military company,” Prigozhin said in audio posted to his Telegram account.
Prigozhin has recently said it may take Russia up to two years to gain control of the region.
However, Kyiv’s top military commander said yesterday that Ukrainian soldiers have held the frontline defenses.
“Fierce fighting continues in the area of Vuhledar and Maryinka,” Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said in a Telegram message. “We reliably hold the defense. In some areas of the front we have managed to regain previously lost positions and gained a foothold.”
On Friday, British intelligence said that Russian forces were making some gains north of Bakhmut.
BIDEN TO VISIT POLAND THIS WEEK
As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s initial invasion – which occurred on Feb. 24, 2022 – approaches, President Joe Biden plans to show solidarity with Kyiv with a planned trip to Poland. Biden will be in Poland from Feb. 20-22.
“The president will make it very clear that the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said on Friday.
Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and other Eastern European allies during the trip. The trip will most likely include a major address emphasizing the resilience of the Ukrainians.
RUSSIA CALLS FOR EMERGENCY NATO SUMMIT OVER NORD STREAM SABOTAGE REPORT
On Wednesday, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh released a blog post alleging that U.S. navy divers, under Biden’s orders, were responsible for the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions. The 1970 Pulitzer Prize winner did not identify his sources but Hersh did claim there were multiple discussions on how to sabotage the pipes without being detected as the culprits.
Hersch went so far as to say that Biden made the decision out of fear that Russia – whose gas company owns a majority share – would use the pipelines against European countries to gain an advantage as they evaded Ukraine.
The White House has called these claims “utterly false and complete fiction.”
However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that NATO should hold an emergency meeting to discuss the bombshell journalist report.
“There are more than enough facts here: the explosion of the pipeline, the presence of a motive, circumstantial evidence obtained by journalists,” Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging platform. “So when will an emergency NATO summit meet to review the situation?”
Russia has previously blamed Western nations for the underwater explosions that damaged the pipelines.
Meanwhile, NATO and the U.S. have called the explosions “an act of sabotage.”