Dnipro: Russian missile destroys apartment block
At least 30 people have been killed in a Russian missile attack on a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro near Zaporizhzhia. Rescue workers are still searching for victims under the rubble, but the chances of finding any survivors at this stage are minimal, the city's mayor has said.
Criminal use of outdated missiles
Former missile engineer and political analyst Alexandr Kochetkov writes in The Moscow Times:
“Dnipro was fired on using an old Soviet Kh-22 anti-ship missile. It carries 960 kg of explosives and is Russia's most powerful missile weapon. ... On its final approach, it is guided by an antediluvian radar system and therefore doggedly targets at large structures. It can be assumed that this missile was aimed at the Prydniprovska thermal power plant, but redirected itself towards the apartment block - which is also a large object on the radar. ... The use of the Kh-22 against land rather than sea targets, especially close to residential areas, completely contradicts the idea behind their development and is nothing short of a war crime.”
They've run out of Shaheds
The attack shows that Russia has run out of drones, the same author writes on Ukrainian website Censor.net:
“No Shahed drones were involved in the attack. This means that the non-empire simply no longer has any. Because if it did, they would certainly have been used, since they multiply the number of targets to which our air defence and missile defence system has to respond, thus making defence a far more difficult task. So the Russians have run out of Iranian weapons, and the planned production of their own weapons has not yet begun.”
Face Russia with courage
Rzeczpospolita calls for unconditional solidarity with Ukraine - also in Europe's own interest:
“Today we are all Ukrainians and residents of Dnipro, today the world is collapsing on our heads like the ceilings of an apartment block hit by a missile. For too long we have pretended not to see how Putin's imperial Russia is moving step by step towards a repeat of the 20th century, when the borders in Europe were drawn by tanks. Today we must not repeat this mistake. Because if we turn away again, in a few years buildings in Riga, Vilnius and perhaps even Warsaw could crumble. If we are always willing to take a step back, Russia will always take another step forward.”