Several regions of Ukraine, including its capital, were facing a Russian missile attack Thursday morning, the latest in a series targeting national infrastructure.
Air raid sirens rang out across the country. In Kyiv, the regional administration said that air defense systems were activated to fend off the ongoing missile attack. Sounds of explosions were heard in the city, reported The Associated Press.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said numerous explosions took place in Ukraine's second-largest city.
Ukrainian authorities in several regions said some incoming Russian missiles were intercepted.
The governor of southern Ukraine's Mykolaiv province, Vitaliy Kim, said five missiles were shot down over the Black Sea. The Ukrainian military’s command North said two were downed over the Sumy region, located on the border with Russia in the country’s northeast.
The Kyiv regional administration said fragments from a downed Russian missile damaged a private building in the Darnytskyi district and a car parked nearby.
Thursday’s attack is the latest in a series of Russian strikes targeting vital infrastructure across Ukraine. Moscow has launched such attacks on weekly basis since October, causing widespread blackouts and power rationing.
After earlier attacks, the Ukrainian military reported shooting down incoming Russian missiles and explosive drones, but some still reached their targets, increasing the suffering of the population amid freezing temperatures.
As the latest wave of Russian strikes began Thursday, authorities in the Dnipro, Odesa and Kryvyi Rih regions said they switched off electricity to minimize the damage to critical infrastructure facilities if they were hit.
Earlier this month, the United States agreed to give a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine to boost the country’s defense. The US and other allies also pledged to provide energy-related equipment to help Ukraine withstand the attacks on its infrastructure.
