Ukraine attacks pro-Russian regions after missile strike... 'Overseas escape rumors' Putin summons military commanders

[Asia Economy Reporter Haeyoung Kwon] The day after Russia launched a large-scale missile strike on Ukraine, there was shelling in the pro-Russian faction area of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, who faced rumors of fleeing abroad due to the prolonged Ukraine war and poor military performance, convened the military command over the weekend to gather opinions.

On the 18th (local time), according to major foreign media including TASS and BBC, 133 shells were fired in 28 rounds the previous day in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) region in eastern Ukraine, established by pro-Russian forces. Two civilians were injured in this attack.

The shelling in the DPR region occurred after the Russian military launched at least 76 missile attacks on the 16th in Kyiv, central Kryvyi Rih, and southern Kherson. As temperatures dropped below freezing, Russia focused on attacking Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. At least nine energy facilities, including power plants and substations, were hit in this airstrike, causing power, heating, and water supply outages in some areas. Anastasia, a resident of Kharkiv with a two-month-old infant, described the situation: "A few minutes after the airstrike, the indicator lights flickered, and all power was cut off after 10 seconds." Ukraine is currently continuing large-scale power restoration efforts.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, stated, "Russia has enough missiles capable of launching even stronger attacks on Ukraine."

President Putin, who faced rumors of fleeing abroad due to poor military performance, convened about ten military commanders including Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on the 17th. At this meeting, he said, "I want to hear proposals for operations that are immediately necessary and for medium-term operations."

President Putin has not appeared in public since the Eurasian Economic Community event held in Kyrgyzstan on the 9th. As Russia has repeatedly suffered defeats, including retreats from Kyiv and Kharkiv, critical voices have emerged even within his internal support base. As President Putin has secluded himself for over a week recently, Western media have raised health concerns, and Abbas Galiamov, a political commentator who was once Putin's secretary, claimed that Putin is planning to flee to South America in preparation for a possible fall from power.

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