Russian missiles hit Ukraine on Thursday in the biggest wave of strikes in weeks, damaging power plants and other critical infrastructure in a freezing winter.
Russia fired 69 missiles at energy facilities and Ukrainian forces shot down 54, Ukrainian military chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi said. Local officials said the attacks killed at least two people around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. The strikes also injured at least six people across the country, although the toll from the attacks rose as officials assessed the day’s events.
Russia sent explosive drones to some areas overnight before expanding the barrage with air and sea missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Air raid sirens sounded across the country and military-activated air defense systems in Kyiv, the regional administration said.
Russia has attacked Ukraine’s electricity and water supplies almost every week since October, while its ground forces have struggled to hold ground and advance. Mayor Vitali Klitschko has warned of power cuts in the capital, asking residents to stock up on water and charge their electronic devices.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the attacks “senseless barbarism”.
“There can be no ‘neutrality’ in the face of such mass war crimes. Pretending to be ‘neutral’ is tantamount to siding with Russia,” Kuleba tweeted.
After more than 10 months of fighting, Russia and Ukraine are locked in a bitter battle of attrition. The Ukrainian military has reclaimed large swaths of Russian-occupied territory in the northeast and south of the country and continues to resist Russia’s persistent attempts to seize the entire industrial region of Donbass in the east. .
At the same time, Moscow has targeted Ukrainian power plants and other key infrastructure in an effort to weaken the country’s resolve and force it to negotiate on Russian terms. The time between strikes has increased in recent weeks, however, leading some commentators to theorize that Russia is trying to ration its missile supply.
Ukraine’s military has reported success in downing incoming Russian missiles and explosive drones in previous attacks, but many towns have gone without heat, internet and electricity for hours or days at a stretch.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said a number of energy facilities were damaged in what he called the 10th large-scale attack on his country.
“Russia is trying to deprive Ukrainians of light before the New Year,” Shmyhal wrote in a Telegram post. He said emergency power cuts may be needed “in some areas”.
About 90% of Lviv was without electricity, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on Telegram. Trams and trolleybuses were not running and residents could experience water cuts, he said.
Meanwhile, a Telegram channel affiliated with the Belarusian presidential press service said that a Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile landed in Belarusian territory of Belarus early Thursday. He said the missile could have veered off course accidentally and there were no casualties.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry later said the missile was shot down by Belarusian air defense over the western region of Brest and landed in a field, according to a statement carried by the state news agency. belta.
Belarus served as a base for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Governor of Russia’s Saratov region Roman Busargin said Russian air defenses shot down an ‘unidentified object’ near the town of Engels, which is home to a Russian airbase that serves as a main hub for bombers nuclear-capable strategic units that are engaged in launching missiles. strikes against Ukraine.
The Russian military said the Engels base had been targeted by Ukrainian drones twice this month, most recently on Monday. The Russian Defense Ministry said three servicemen were killed by fragments of a downed Ukrainian drone.
Ukrainian authorities have maintained ambiguity about the attacks on Russian soil, refraining from claiming responsibility.
Earlier this month, the United States agreed to donate a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine to bolster the country’s defense. The United States and other allies have also pledged to provide energy-related equipment to help Ukraine resist attacks on its infrastructure.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia aimed to “destroy critical infrastructure and kill civilians en masse”.
Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said Monday that his country wants a “peace” summit within two months at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as mediator. He said Russia must face a war crimes tribunal before his country speaks directly with Moscow, but other nations should feel free to engage with the Russians.
Commenting on the summit proposal on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it “delusional” and “hollow”, describing the proposal as a “publicity stunt from Washington that tries to present the Kyiv regime as a peacemaker”.
Russian officials have said any peace plan can only come from Kyiv’s recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over areas it illegally annexed from Ukraine in September.
A 10-point peace plan that Zelensky first presented there at a November Group of 20 summit in Bali includes the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.
British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons, commenting on the latest attack, said on Twitter that “Russia doesn’t want peace with Ukraine. Russia wants the subjugation of Ukraine.
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Renata Brito and Hanna Arhirova, The Associated Press
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Russia hits key Ukrainian infrastructure with biggest strikes in weeks – Reuters