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At least 10 people were killed and several others injured as Russia launched one of its biggest missile attacks targeting major Ukrainian cities on Friday.
Russia attacked capital Kyiv, and cities of Lviv, Kharkiv, and eastern Dnipro using hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles, including the extremely hard-to-intercept X-22 type, Ukrainian air forces said.
Russia launched approximately 110 missiles, with most of them being shot down, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine’s air forces said Russia “apparently launched everything they have” against targets across the country in the far-reaching attack.
Firefighters work on a site of a building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine
(AP)
Air defence systems were engaged in Kyiv after multiple explosions set fire to residential buildings and warehouses, prompting authorities to announce a missile threat.
“More explosions in the capital. Air defense is working intensively,” city mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Telegram. A building of a metro station in Ukraine’s capital used as a shelter was damaged in the attack, he added.
Multiple blasts from drone strikes were subsequently recorded in the western city of Lviv, where one person was reportedly killed and three others injured.
Four people were killed in Dnipro after the missiles struck a maternity hospital, a six-storey building and a shopping centre.
Kharkiv in the northeast was rocked by 22 Russian strikes, which damaged a hospital, residential buildings and an industrial facility, according to the local authorities.
An explosion of a missile is seen during a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine
(REUTERS)
Two people were killed in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and at least 15 were injured, including two children, as missiles hit residential buildings.
Air raid alerts were also issued in other parts of the country, including Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and Lutsk, local media reported.
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia targetted social and critical infrastructure in a major missile and drone strike on Ukraine.
The energy ministry reported power outages in four regions after the air attack amid fears of Russian strikes pounding power grids this winter.
Rescuer work at the site damaged by the debris of a downed drone in Odesa, Ukraine
(via REUTERS)
The air attacks took place just days after “completely furious” Vladimir Putin reportedly ordered raids to retaliate against the destruction of a Russian warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia.
Footage shared by the Ukrainian air force showed a 10-metre-high fireball erupting from the area where the 110-metre-long Novocherkassk ship was located.
The fresh bout of far-reaching attacks, nearly two years into Russia’s war, comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the US for releasing the last remaining package of weapons available for the battered country under the existing authorisation.
“I thank president Joe Biden, Congress, and the American people for the $250m military aid package announced yesterday,” Mr Zelensky said on social media.
“To defend freedom and security not only in Ukraine and Europe but also in the United States, we must continue to respond to ongoing Russian aggression,” he added.
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