What to know about the missile attacks in Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine exchange attacks as the fighting moves south.

Kiev, Ukraine – Early morning missile and drone strikes in Ukraine have killed at least five people and injured several others, in what appears to be part of a large-scale bombardment of targets across the country. .

At least 81 missiles, including six hypersonic missiles known as Kinzhals, and eight Shahed drones, were fired overnight, according to the Ukrainian military.

Bus driver Sergei, 49, standing on the wreckage of his car, destroyed by recent shelling. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

An officer in kyiv said that one of the Kinzhals appeared to have reached the capital.

At least 34 of the missiles were intercepted, according to the military.

Four people died in their homes when a rocket hit a residential area in the western Lviv region, which borders Poland, and one person, a 34-year-old man, died in the Dneprotrovsk region in central Ukraine, according to reports. local authorities.

In the capital Kiev, two large explosions an hour apart injured at least two residents and sent a column of black smoke from the city center, rattling windows and engulfing cars in flames.

The explosions came after air-raid sirens sounded throughout the night for more than six hours, ending a multi-week lull in such attacks on the capital.

Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have been warning since late February, around the anniversary of the Russian invasion, of the possibility of a barrage of missile attacks.

Since October, Russia has fired missiles at Ukrainian cities and power infrastructure in what military analysts say were attempts to cause blackouts and plunge the country into darkness during the winter months to demoralize the population.

This is the situation in Ukraine:

– Explosions in kyiv were heard around 6 am and around 7 am

It was not immediately clear if they were from air defense weapons exploding in the sky or missiles hitting the city.

When the air defenses have managed to hit missiles over the city, the falling debris has caused damage and killed people in the capital.

– The attacks caused emergency power cuts in Kiev, where the mayor said around 15% were without electricity and 40% without heating, as well as in other parts of the country.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was disconnected from external power lines and switched to diesel generators.

The Ukrainian electricity company DTEK stated that the missiles had damaged three of its generating plants.

– In Odessa, on the Black Sea coast in southern Ukraine, missiles hit energy infrastructure and residential buildings, according to the regional military administration.

– To the north, in Kharkiv, near the Ukrainian border with Russia, 15 missiles hit infrastructure and a residential building in and around the city, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the region’s military administration, said on Telegram.

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