Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—
A new barrage of missile strikes across Ukraine by Russia on Friday morning put the entire country under an air raid alert as explosions rang overhead and attacks struck critical infrastructure and knocked out power. People rushed in search of shelter.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmykhal told a government meeting that “they set the goal of not giving the Ukrainians light, water or heat,” saying that 60 of the 76 missiles launched into Ukraine were It was intercepted by air defense units, he added.
Russia’s persistent and widespread attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid have left millions of civilians without access to electricity, heat, water and other vital services during the freezing winter, at least temporarily. rice field. Experts say repeated missile and drone attacks since October are part of the Kremlin’s strategy to damage or destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize Ukrainians, in violation of the laws of war. there is
Ukrainian energy operator Uklenergo said on Friday that Russia’s strikes on thermal and hydroelectric power plants and substations had led to the loss of more than 50% of the country’s energy capacity, putting it into “emergency mode”.
“The enemy is attacking Ukraine on a large scale. I asked
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions hit the city and three districts were hit by an onslaught of rockets, cutting off the entire capital’s water supply. He suggested that residents prepare a stockpile of drinking water and not leave their shelters while the attack continued, while technicians worked to restore supplies.
Residents in winter coats, hats and scarves gathered at a Kyiv metro station as sirens blared. Their faces were lit by cellphones as they huddled on the escalator, scrolling through the latest information.
A photo shared by officials in the Kyiv region showed debris from missiles in the snow, which they said had taken down air defense systems. 37 of them claimed to have been intercepted.
Regional and city authorities across the country reported explosions and missile attacks hitting civilian infrastructure, causing some deaths.
In the central city of Kriviri, officials said a Russian missile hit a three-story residential building, killing at least two people and ambulance crews digging through the rubble. “There may be people under the rubble,” said Deputy Chief of the Presidential Office Kirilo Tymoshenko.
At least 10 missiles hit various targets in the northern Kharkiv region, damaging an energy facility and a hospital, according to Regional Military Administrator Oleh Syniehubov. In the city of Kharkiv, power was beginning to be restored after a blackout for most of the day. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said “extreme damage has been done to the infrastructure”, prompting residents to use so-called “invincible points” – makeshift centers that provide relief from blackouts. I ordered them to collect food and hot drinks and charge their mobile phones.
According to regional military chief Oleksandr Stark, the southeastern part of Zaporizhia was hit by more than a dozen missiles, but it was unclear what was targeted.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Kherson, which was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November, artillery and rocket attacks continued targeting critical infrastructure, housing, medical aid and public transport, according to the regional military chief. A person was killed. The shelling also set fire to multi-storey apartments, and the body of a man was found in one apartment, the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office said. The city is still struggling to restore basic services.
Sections of the Ukrainian railway system in the Kharkov, Kirovohrad, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions were without power after the strike, with backup diesel locomotives replacing some services. Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Kharushchenko, said Friday’s attacks damaged nine power plants and warned of more emergency blackouts.
The blackout was deployed before the strike as a precautionary measure to protect the power grid from blackouts, Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Center, a Ukrainian research and consulting firm, told Ukrainian television. . He added that the outcome of Friday morning’s attacks would be “unpleasant” nonetheless.
“Unfortunately, it has already been confirmed that they (Russians) are again attacking power plants and trying to cut off nuclear and thermal power plants. We are trying to focus our attacks on these facilities,” Harchenko said. “I urge Ukrainians to understand that the situation is difficult. I ask them to prepare as much as possible for the fact that the electricity situation will not improve soon.”
The Ukrainian military said Russia had attacked the country with 76 missiles, launched cruise missiles from its Black Sea and Caspian fleets, and for the first time from Tu-95 strategic bombers at Engels Air Force Base on the Volga River in the south. said. Russia.
Engels Air Force Base, home to Russia’s long-range, nuclear-capable bombers, targeted by drone attacks In early December, it slightly damaged two planes, according to the Kremlin. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
A MiG-31K, a supersonic aircraft capable of carrying Kinzal hypersonic missiles, was also spotted over Belarus during airstrikes in Ukraine on Friday, according to the Ukrainian military. However, it was not clear from their statement whether Kinzal was used in the attack.
“The enemy wanted to significantly disperse the attention of the air defense,” said Yury Inat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukraine’s Chief Military Officer Valery Zaruzhny later said 60 missiles had been shot down by the country’s air defense forces.
Last Monday, Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Major General Kirilo Budanov, claimed that Russia had nearly exhausted its arsenal of high-precision weapons but still had enough to do harm. has not delivered ballistic missiles to Russia, an analysis echoed by White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby.
“We know their defense industrial base is taxed,” Kirby said of Russia. “We know they are having trouble keeping up with the pace.
CNN has been unable to confirm Russia’s missile arsenal, which has been underestimated by Ukrainian officials.
The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send the president. Patriot, America’s most advanced ground-based air defense system, to Ukraine, according to two US officials and a senior official. The Ukrainian government has long requested this system to defend against repeated Russian missile and drone attacks. It is the most effective long-range defense weapon system sent to the country, and officials say it will help secure the airspace of Eastern Europe’s North Atlantic Treaty and United States (NATO) member states.
At a press conference on Friday, the White House condemned Russia’s attacks, which primarily targeted civilian infrastructure. Kirby said the attack showed Moscow was “trying to once again instill fear in the hearts of the Ukrainian people and make it more difficult for them as winter approaches.”
He declined to release details of the next security assistance package for Ukraine.
The United States and NATO countries have spent recent months grappling with ways to protect Ukraine from relentless Russian attacks that have destroyed about half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to Ukrainian officials.
About 70 countries and international organizations pledged on Tuesday Over $1 Billion to Help Repair Ukraine’s InfrastructureLast week, the Pentagon announced an additional $275 million in security assistance to Ukraine was approved, including weapons, artillery and equipment to help Ukraine bolster its air defenses. America announced in November Supports $53 million package Repair of the Ukrainian power system.
The “first tranche” of energy equipment in the US package has arrived in Ukraine, Kirby said Friday.
