Russia staged a massive missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other cities, targeting power facilities as winter set in. Ukrainians had been bracing for such an attack, fearing damage to the grid that would cause long blackouts. The Ukrainian Energy Minister confirmed the attack on electricity generation and transmission facilities throughout the country. Air defenses engaged drones over Kyiv as powerful blasts rang out across the city center. Officials cut power supply to districts as a precaution. Two people were killed in an overnight drone attack in Mykolaiv, with more blasts reported in other cities.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike a response to world leaders interacting with President Putin, while NATO member Poland scrambled its air force within its airspace as a security precaution. Ukraine’s air force urged residents to take cover as Russian cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles flew through Ukrainian airspace. In Kyiv, a residential building caught fire due to falling debris, injuring at least two people.
This attack was the biggest since August, when Russia fired over 200 drones and missiles across Ukraine, killing seven people. The scale of the damage from the recent attack was not immediately clear, with reports of damage to energy infrastructure in some regions. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, with Russia targeting critical infrastructure and civilians in the war they launched in February 2022.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com