Rescue workers put out a fire at a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine (AP photo)
Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday that its forces struck “strategic targets” in Ukraine overnight using Oreshnik hypersonic missiles. The ministry did not provide further details on the locations or extent of the strikes, but said the attack was carried out in retaliation for a drone strike in December that it claimed targeted a residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by AFP.Ukraine had denied any involvement in that attack.Ukraine’s foreign minister said the Oreshnik missile strike landed close to the EU and NATO border. He warned that the attack posed a “grave threat” to European security. He further called it a a ‘test’ for Kyiv allies.Additionally, Kyiv had claimed that Russia launched 36 missiles, 242 drones at Ukraine overnight. The attack came after Moscow rejected the latest post-war peacekeeping plan. It was part of a massive attack that set apartment blocks ablaze and killed at least four people in the capital Kyiv.Meanwhile, a Ukrainian attack knocked out heat and electricity supplies for more than half a million people in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, the regional governor said on Friday.“According to the results of the enemy’s overnight attack on Belgorod region’s utility infrastructure, as of 6:00 am today, 556,000 people in six municipalities are without power,” Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said, adding that nearly the same number were also without heating as temperatures remained near freezing, as reported by AFP. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been continuing with both countries pointing fingers at other for various attacks. Ukrainian authorities said on Friday, that Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack using drones and missiles, killing four people and injuring at least 22 in Kyiv, The assault also targeted critical infrastructure in the western city of Lviv. Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the strike involved an unidentified ballistic missile.Among those killed in Kyiv was an emergency medical worker, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Ukraine’s security service said five rescue workers were injured while responding to sites hit during the ongoing attacks. Multiple districts of the capital were affected. In the Desnyanskyi district, a drone crashed onto the roof of a multi-storey building, while at another location in the same area, the first two floors of a residential building were damaged. In the Dnipro district, debris from a drone struck a multi-storey building, triggering a fire.Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes disrupted water supply and electricity in parts of the city. The attack came just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of Russia’s plans for a major offensive. He said Moscow was seeking to exploit freezing conditions in the capital, with icy roads and streets complicating movement and emergency response.
