Kiev, July 28.– Russia launched a barrage of missiles at Ukraine’s capital from neighboring Belarus early Thursday as Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the crucial city of Kherson appeared to be gathering momentum.
At least 20 missiles were fired from Belarus, Moscow’s key ally in its 5-month-old invasion of Ukraine, striking an apartment block in the Chernihiv region and buildings outside the country’s capital.
Ukrainian forces in the east, bolstered by U.S.- and Western-supplied weaponry, were poised to launch the first major counterattack of the war, aiming to reclaim land taken by Russian forces and their separatist allies around the strategic city of Kherson.
The Russian barrage Thursday also highlighted the role of Moscow’s ally Belarus in the fighting. Minsk has backed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and provided key staging areas and invasion routes while trying to keep from directly joining the fighting with its neighbor to the south.
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