Heavy Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least four people, wounded dozens and caused widespread damage on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
The attacks struck residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, hours after President Vladimir Putin said an air strike on the Russian city of Belgorod that Moscow said killed 24 civilians and blamed on Ukraine “will not go unpunished”.
Russia has stepped up air strikes on Ukraine over the New Year period, and on Friday conducted its largest air attack of the almost two-year-old war on Ukraine, killing at least 39 people.
Russia attacked with waves of different missiles during the morning rush hour on Tuesday. Military authorities issued air alerts that lasted for at least three hours.
Angry wives of Russian soldiers are becoming a thorn in Putin’s side
Angry wives of Russian soldiers are becoming a thorn in Putin’s side
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said an elderly woman had died in an ambulance after being wounded. He had earlier said that at least 16 people had been wounded in the capital.
Two others were killed in the Kyiv region and one person was killed in the eastern city of Kharkiv, according to regional authorities.
Klitschko said gas pipelines had been damaged in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district, and electricity and water had been cut off in several districts of the capital. Rescuers were putting out fires in several places, he said.
Ukraine’s national Ukrenergo energy company said “250,000 consumers were without electricity in Kyiv and its region following Russian strikes.”
The loss of electricity and water brought back memories of last winter, when Russia pounded the energy grid with missiles, causing frequent power cuts and plunging millions into darkness.
Oleh Synehubov, Kharkiv’s regional governor, said the central part of the city of Kharkiv was attacked at about 07:30. He said on the Telegram messaging app that one person had been killed in the attack and 41 had been wounded.
After the initial aerial barrage, Yuri Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, said the situation remained tense and that air defences were bracing for more Russian missile launches.
Cities across western Russia regularly have come under drone attacks since May, although Ukrainian officials never acknowledge responsibility for strikes on Russian territory or the Crimean Peninsula.
“They want to intimidate us and create uncertainty within our country. We will intensify strikes. Not a single crime against our civilian population will go unpunished,” Putin said Monday, describing the barrage of Belgorod as a “terrorist act.”
Russia launched about 90 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine on Monday.
Putin accused Western nations of using Ukraine to try to “put Russia in its place.” While vowing retribution, he insisted Russia would only target military infrastructure in Ukraine.
However, Ukraine reports civilian casualties from daily Russian attacks, which have hit shopping centres and residential areas in small communities.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse