As the Russian forces begin to change their offensive attacks, they are finding gaps in Ukraine’s defenses to exploit. While the infrastructure of any country is its backbone, in Kyiv it is the only thing keeping the city going. As winter begins to roll in, any losses there would be crippling to the rebuilding efforts and in keeping up the spirits of the Ukrainian people.
Vitali Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxing champion who serves as the capital city’s mayor said “about 350,000 apartments in Kyiv” had lost power due to five explosions at an energy plant early on October 31st. “As a result of strikes on critical infrastructure facilities, part of the capital was cut off. There is no water supply in some areas.” With 80 percent of Kyiv now without water, he was encouraging people “to stock up on water from the nearest pumps and points of sale.”
This kind of shift is something that could have been prevented, and something that should have been easily addressed when Biden was handing over a blank check and supplies to keep Ukraine in the fight. Protecting infrastructure is important in any war. Given the amount of gifted air defense equipment to Ukraine, this should have been handled months ago.
Russia has been shifting its attacks in Kyiv, and as of late, missile and rocket attacks have frequently been coming from their warships. Between Russian-made cruise missiles, and Iranian drones, the sophistication, and frequency of attacks have climbed significantly. With more than 50 X-101/X-555 missiles being launched into Ukraine; it was a change in tactics for bombers.
Kyiv was not the only city attacked. In the south Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia faced heavy bombardment, and the western city of Lviv also found itself taking a rough attack with little warning as well. Ukraine claimed to have downed 44 of these missiles in flight, but that claim is unconfirmed. Given the other figures in the war, it is likely inflated.
Back in Russia, their state-sponsored media proclaimed the bombing as “strikes by high-precision long-range air- and sea-based armament [sic] at the military control and energy systems of Ukraine.” They followed up by claiming that “all the assigned targets have been neutralized.” Again, this a statement much like the 44 missiles claim that is impossible to verify and is likely being inflated.
All of this follows what seemed to be an unmanned drone strike against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the vicinity of Sevastopol, Crimea. This was looked at as an act of terrorism by the Kremlin and forced the termination of the UN and Turkey negotiated a “grain corridor” that got grain out for Ukraine by using the ports that are still intact. Per Russian claims, the British Royal Navy is behind the attack.
Meanwhile, President Biden has been incredibly quiet about these tide-shifting measures, as has the entire White House. This idea that they are immune from these attacks, or bear no responsibility for helping to see Ukraine through the Russian attack waves is shortsighted. If anything, Biden owes them extra assistance.
For two decades we helped rebuild Afghanistan as well as Iraq. When Afghanistan ended it turned right back into the Taliban stronghold it had been years ago. That US influence was the only thing giving the people a small taste of freedom.
In Ukraine, it is the resources from the US that have kept the Ukrainian people well-armed and protected. It’s been a huge help in supporting the countrymen who just up and joined the fight. Why Biden would short them on training for the equipment or tactics is beyond comprehension. Then again, so is almost everything he’s done since becoming President.
