Friday, Ukrainian officials reported explosions in at least three locations, claiming that Russia conducted a massive missile strike against energy facilities and infrastructure.
Local authorities on social media reported explosions in the capital, Kyiv, the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, as authorities sounded air raid alarms across the country to warn of a new barrage of devastating Russian airstrikes, which have occurred intermittently since mid-October.
Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, said on the social media app Telegram that the city is without power. Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, reported three attacks on the city’s vital infrastructure.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reported a hit on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih through Telegram, stating, “There may be people under the rubble.” He said that emergency services were on-site.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, reported explosions in the Desnianskyi and Holosiivskyi districts and urged inhabitants to seek cover.
“The attack on the capital continues,” he wrote on Telegram.
The attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are part of a new Russian plan to coerce the Ukrainians into surrender following a string of significant combat defeats in recent months.
»Russia launches major missile attack on energy facilities and infrastructure in Ukraine«