As Russia pounded Ukraine with barrage of missiles and drone attacks, at least one person was confirmed dead in Kyiv.
The attack on Kyiv during rush hour on Thursday happened only one day after Kyiv secured the battle tanks it had long requested from Germany and the United States, a development that Russia had branded a “dangerous” escalation.
Up to six Tu-95 fighter jets, according to a representative of the Ukrainian air force, took off from Murmansk in northern Russia’s Arctic region and fired long-range missiles.
Authorities in Kyiv said that its air defenses had shot down more than 15 Russian missiles that had been fired at the capital, but they warned citizens to seek cover because of the possibility of further strikes.
In Vinnytsia’s central region, strikes were also allegedly reported.
All 24 Russian drones produced in Iran that were deployed overnight, according to the Ukrainian military, were shot down by anti-aircraft defenses.
Maksym Marchenko, the governor of Odesa, said a number of energy infrastructure had been destroyed, resulting in “significant problems” with the electricity supply.
Due to the threat of missile attacks, DTEK, the largest private energy producer in Ukraine, said it would be implementing emergency power shutdowns in Kyiv, the surrounding area, and the provinces of Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk.
Similar emergency shutdowns were reported by other power plants in other parts of Ukraine.
