Russia launched at least 76 missiles at energy facilities and other infrastructure in Ukraine in its latest wave of deadly attacks that have caused widespread power outages across the country.
Friday’s bombing hit at least four towns and killed at least two people in the central city of Kryvyi Rih. Meanwhile, one person was killed in the southern Kherson region, where an apartment block was set ablaze by shelling that sparked the missile attacks, regional authorities said.
Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of the Kyiv region, said Russia was “massively attacking” Ukraine in the latest coordinated wave of attacks, which have been hitting Ukraine’s infrastructure since October.
“The attack continues. Stay in shelters and safe places,” Kuleba urged after the attacks began early Friday.
Later in the day, Ukraine’s top general said the country’s air defense had shot down 60 of the incoming missiles fired at critical infrastructure.
Ukraine’s railway operator said several train lines had been left without power across the country, while Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said blackouts had been introduced nationwide emergency to allow repairs after damage to energy facilities in Ukraine. various regions.
People take shelter inside a subway station during substantial missile attacks in Kyiv [Pavlo Podufalov/Reuters]
At least three explosions were heard in Kyiv and parts of the capital suffered power and water cuts as residents gathered in underground subway tunnels to seek shelter.
A spokesman for Kyiv’s military administration said Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 37 of 40 Russian missiles entering the city area. Regional authorities, in a statement posted on social media, described the shelling of the city as “one of the largest missile attacks since the beginning of the large-scale invasion.”
Ukraine’s air defenses also shot down 10 missiles over the Dnipro region, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a statement on Telegram.
The southern city of Kherson, as well as the central cities of Poltava and Kremenchuk also suffered disruptions following the attack. Mayor Ihor Terekhov described “colossal” damage to infrastructure in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
“I ask you to be patient with what is happening now. I know that in your houses there is no light, no heating, no water supply,” he wrote in a post on Telegram.
In total, about half of Ukraine’s energy grid has been damaged during weeks of sustained attacks, according to the national supplier, Ukrenegro.
The outages have knocked out home heating for many residents across the country, where temperatures on Friday hovered between minus one and three degrees Celsius (30 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Massive shells, explosions”
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, has maintained that attacks on basic infrastructure are militarily legitimate.
Kyiv, the United Nations human rights office and the head of the European Commission have said the attacks constitute war crimes by threatening civilians and choking off basic services in a country where an estimated 18 million people are already in need of aid humanitarian
“Mass shells, explosions. The goal of the Russian Federation is that Ukrainians are constantly under pressure, go down to bomb shelters almost every day, feel uncomfortable due to power cuts or water interruptions,” the minister of water wrote Economy Iúlia Svyrydenko on Facebook after the attack.
“But Ukraine’s position has not changed: let it be without light, but #sensetu. we will endure we will win We will rebuild.”
The latest attacks came after senior Ukrainian officials warned on Thursday of a renewed offensive by Russia in the new year, which could include a new ground offensive in Kyiv, like the one that was repelled in the early days of the war
The raids also come after the European Union cleared the way to give Ukraine another 18 billion euros ($19 billion) in aid.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced Thursday that it will expand training of Ukrainian forces in Germany to about 500 people a month, focusing on larger-scale maneuvers and specific weapons systems.
Reuters news agency reported that the United States was also finalizing plans to provide advanced Patriot air defense batteries to Ukraine, which would provide additional protection against Russian cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has used the latest attacks to call on allies to step up arms supplies.
“For every Russian missile or drone aimed at Ukraine and Ukrainians there must be a shell delivered to Ukraine, a tank for Ukraine, an armored vehicle for Ukraine,” he said on social media.
“This would effectively end Russian terror against Ukraine and restore peace and security to Europe and beyond.”