Kyiv ( Associated Press) – Russia launched more explosive missiles and drones against nearly a dozen Ukrainian provinces on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, according to Ukrainian officials.
The attacks follow Russia’s recent pattern of attacking power plants and other major infrastructure every two weeks. However, the latest attack comes after Germany and the United States announced on Wednesday that they would send high-tech tanks to Ukraine and encouraged other allies to do the same.
Ukrainian emergency service spokesman Oleksandr Khorunzhiy said that in addition to the dead, at least 11 people were injured.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian shell had killed one person, the first death from an attack in the capital since New Year’s Eve. He said two other people were injured. The head of the capital’s government, Serhiy Popko, said that Ukrainian air defense had shot down 15 cruise missiles targeted in the area.
The regional prosecutor’s office of Zaporizhia province in Ukraine reported that three people were killed and seven were injured in an attack on an energy facility. Valery Zaluzny, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said Thursday’s barrage consisted of a total of 55 missiles, of which 47 were intercepted.
Explosive drones arrived overnight before the missile strikes. As air raid sirens sounded across the country, civilians, some chasing their dogs, flocked to take shelter in subway stations, underground parking garages and basements.
It was the first Russian offensive of that caliber across the country since 14 January.
Russia has launched massive attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities since early October, as part of a strategy to try to disrupt Ukrainian forces and keep civilians in the cold and dark this winter, many experts say. Let’s predict. that it can become invasive in spring. , when more recruits come to the battlefield.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Hlushchenko acknowledged that there were fires in some places, causing an emergency power outage.
In the Holosievsky district south of Kyiv, 53-year-old Arkady Kuritsyn said he heard a loud explosion that blew out the windows of several trucks parked next to his junk shop and snapped several trees in half in a wooded area.
But the strikes missed what appeared to be the target: a nearby power plant. Andrey Tarasenko, 36, who works at a nearby factory, said the industrial area has suffered several missile attacks because of its proximity to the plant.
“I’m not surprised they’ve attacked him again,” he said. “We’ve got used to it by now.”
In Hlevakha, an urban area about 35 kilometers (22 miles) southwest of the capital, a barrage of missiles was followed by a drone strike that damaged Halina Panasian’s two-story house. Damage included a deep crater in the yard, a large hole in the roof, and pieces of debris scattered around the house.
“I was in my bedroom when there was a bang in the house. I had to crawl out through collapsed walls,” Panasian, 59, said of the 2 a.m. explosion. “What can I say? How can I live a happy life now? can not do. I am very sad. My life is broken,” he said.
The attacks came a day after Germany announced it would send 14 Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine and authorized other European countries to send 88 more. The United States said it planned to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian military.
Along with Germany and the United States, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden are among nations that have sent or announced plans to provide hundreds of tanks and heavy armored vehicles to reinforce Ukraine, which is set to usher in a new phase of the war. Entering and trying. To break through the Russian lines.
The British government said Thursday it would begin training Ukrainian soldiers in the use and repair of Challenger 2 tanks next week. Britain will give 14 tanks to the Ukrainian army. Defense Minister Alex Chalk said they should reach Ukraine by the end of March.
