Explosions were reported in at least three Ukrainian cities on Friday as authorities said Russia launched a “major missile attack” against energy facilities and infrastructure.
Local authorities on social media app Telegram said air raid alarms were sounding across the country as explosions were reported in the capital of Kyiv, southern Kryvyi Rih and northeastern Kharkiv.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has reported explosions in at least four districts, according to the Associated Press.
“The attack on the capital continues,” Klitschko wrote on social media. He urged residents to seek shelter, reminding them that Metro services in the capital have been suspended as people flocked to underground tunnels for protection.
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A hole caused by a shell explosion in the damaged dome of an Orthodox church after what Russian officials in Donetsk said was a shelling by Ukrainian forces, in Donetsk, the capital of Russia-controlled Donetsk Region, Ukraine Eastern, Thursday, December 15, 2022.
(AP)
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said his city was without electricity, while Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov announced three attacks on critical infrastructure, the AP reported.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, reported a strike in a residential building in Kryvyi Rih.
“There may be people under the rubble,” he wrote on Telegram, adding that emergency services had arrived at the building.
People rest in the subway station, which was used as a bomb shelter during a missile attack in Kiev, Ukraine on Friday, December 16, 2022.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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National railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported power outages at an unknown number of stations in the eastern and central regions of Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk due to damage to energy infrastructure.
The trains remained running by switching from electric power to steam engine power.
The Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have been part of a new strategy to try to force Ukrainians into submission after major losses in recent months.
Conversely, some analysts and Ukrainian leaders believe Russia’s losses have only bolstered Ukrainian forces as the conflict enters its 10th month.
A man walks during a power outage in Kiev, Ukraine on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022.
(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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Russian attacks have been launched against Ukraine intermittently since mid-October, with the previous round taking place on 5 December.
Ukrainian authorities have reported some successes in intercepting and shooting down incoming armed missiles, rockets and drones.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
