Russia's Largest Missile Strike Since War Began Draws Strong Condemnation from the West

'Russian Missile Suspected' 2 Dead in Poland
NATO Chief Holds Emergency Call

(Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] On the 15th (local time), the day the Group of Twenty (G20) summit was held, Russia launched the largest missile strike since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. This strike caused casualties in major Ukrainian cities as well as in neighboring countries. Notably, missiles landed on Polish territory, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), prompting strong condemnation of Russia from the international community.

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, stated in an afternoon press release, "Russia's missile strike on Ukraine only deepens the G20's concerns about Vladimir Putin's unstable war situation," adding, "The United States and its allies will continue to provide support, including air defense systems, to Ukraine."

James Cleverly, UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, criticized on Twitter, calling the strike "a display of Putin's weakness as he is losing the war," and added, "As seen at today's G20, diplomatically, Putin is similarly isolated." Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the G20 summit held in Bali, Indonesia, to avoid international criticism. According to CNN, Western leaders had previously declared they would not engage with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who leads the Russian delegation at the summit in Putin's absence.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also emphasized, "We have heard about Russia's brutal missile attacks on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and others, especially targeting civilian infrastructure," calling the missile strike "an unprecedented attack threatening nuclear security."

(Photo by AP)

On the same day, Russian forces launched about 100 missiles at major cities including Ukraine's capital Kyiv. This missile strike, the largest since the war began, came about two weeks after the last strike at the end of last month. So far, three deaths have been confirmed. Bloomberg reported that missiles hit three residential buildings, resulting in at least one confirmed fatality.

Two missiles that deviated from their course landed on Polish territory, a NATO member, causing two deaths. The Polish government convened a National Security Council meeting that evening and raised military readiness.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, tweeted in the afternoon that he had spoken with Polish President Andrzej Duda regarding the explosions, stating, "NATO is monitoring the situation and allies are in close consultation." He added, "It is important that all facts are established."

Russia's missile strike primarily targeted Ukraine's energy facilities. Energy infrastructure in more than 12 major cities across Ukraine, including the northeastern city of Kharkiv, western Lviv, northeastern Zhytomyr, and eastern Sumy, was attacked, causing power outages. Approximately 50% of Kyiv and 7 million households nationwide experienced blackouts.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, said in a statement, "Russian terrorists have once again carried out a planned attack on energy infrastructure," adding, "The situation in Kyiv is very serious." All electricity supply was cut off in the severely affected northern and central regions, and special emergency power outages were implemented in Kyiv.

Vitalii Klychko, Mayor of Kyiv, announced via Telegram, "Due to the large-scale missile attack, emergency power outages have been implemented across Ukraine, and at least half of Kyiv's areas have lost electricity."

The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia launched about 100 missiles across Ukraine on this day. This is the largest scale since the war began, surpassing the 84 missiles launched on the 10th of last month as the first retaliation for the Crimean Bridge explosion. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 70 missiles were intercepted. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia used X-101 and X-555 cruise missiles.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, who is staying in Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit, said in a video message, "Russia will not achieve its goals through missile bombardment," adding, "We will restore everything. We will survive." In his G20 speech, President Zelenskyy compared the restoration of Kherson city to the Normandy landings on D-Day, stating that the war has reached a turning point.

Although Ukraine is not a G20 member, it attended the summit at the invitation of the host country, Indonesia. Andriy Yermak, Head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, tweeted, "Russia responded to President Zelenskyy's G20 speech with a new missile attack," adding, "Terrorists always end up defeated."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.