Russian forces launched the most intense wave of missile strikes on Ukraine this year early on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring dozens more, while emergency power cuts were imposed in Kiev after infrastructure was damaged, Reuters reported.
Ukraine's power grid operator Ukrenergo announced that emergency power cuts had been introduced in Kiev after, according to the head of the Kiev military administration, Timur Tkachenko, the capital had earlier been the target of a brief but intense rocket attack.
DTEK, a private Ukrainian energy company, said a Russian attack had severely damaged equipment at one of its thermal power plants.
Since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's power system with missiles and drones, aiming to disrupt electricity and heating supplies during the winter, while Ukrainian air defenses are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the waves of attacks.
Ukrainian Telegram channels monitoring the situation said about 20 ballistic missiles were launched overnight over a period of about an hour, in what they described as the longest sustained attack this year. Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.
The Ukrainian armed forces did not immediately comment on the full scope of the attacks. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the strikes.
In Kharkiv, a city 30 kilometers from the Russian border and a frequent target of Moscow, regional governor Oleh Sinyehubov said four people had been killed in an attack on the outskirts of the city.
Sinyehubov said six people were injured.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service said the attack in Kharkiv hit a postal terminal, destroying buildings and causing multiple fires covering an area of about 500 square meters. Rescuers pulled 30 people to safety, including two from under the rubble, the statement said.
In the southern port city of Odessa, five people were injured in a Russian attack overnight, the service said. Fires were reported in an abandoned new building, a fitness center and a vocational high school.
Two people were injured in a Russian attack on the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, which damaged civilian infrastructure, houses and gas pipelines, the regional governor said.
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