KYIV: Russian airstrikes hit Ukraine’s capital and other cities on Tuesday, local officials said, killing at least six people and wounding more than 70 as Moscow’s war nears its third year.
Five dead and 51 injured in the eastern city of Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Synehubov said in a Telegram.
Rescuers were digging through the rubble there to look for survivors, mayor Ihor Terekhov told local television. He said 30 apartment buildings were damaged in the morning strikes.
The gas pipeline in Kharkiv was also damaged, the state energy company Naftogaz said. Thousands of residents were left without power after electrical infrastructure was damaged, the Department of Energy said.
In Kiev, where air defense blasts shattered the morning calm, authorities said up to 22 people, including three children, were injured in at least three districts. Several apartments and non-residential buildings were also on fire.
At one point, rescuers tended to a dazed and moaning victim as workers swept away debris and broken glass.
“There was a very loud bang and my mother was already running outside shouting that we had to leave. We all went to the corridor,” said local resident Daniel Boliukh (21).
“Then we went to look at the balcony and saw all the buildings on fire.
Some of the damage in Kyiv occurred next to the United Nations office, resident coordinator Denise Brown said in a statement.
Since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has carried out regular airstrikes against cities and civilian infrastructure far behind the front lines.
Meanwhile, its troops are attacking in several parts along the vast eastern front, trying to seize the initiative, the Ukrainian military says.
Also read: Myanmar military plane overshoots runway in India, eight injured
SHOT DOWN
Tuesday’s strikes also killed one person in the southeastern city of Pavlohrad, the regional governor said.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced that the military destroyed 21 of the 41 missiles of various types fired by Russia. Nearly 20 of them were shot down over Kyiv, a city spokesman said.
Ukrainian General Serhiy Naiev released a video he said showed air defense units shooting down a Russian missile with a machine gun.
Kiev has repeatedly called for more advanced air defense systems from its Western partners as it seeks to fend off Russian strikes.
Moscow’s forces are increasingly using a combination of air and ground-based missiles, which are more difficult to shoot down.
“The world must understand that this terror can only be stopped by force,” wrote the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram.
Officials in the northern region of Sumy also said critical infrastructure was damaged by a rocket attack on the town of Shostka.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had struck companies that produce missiles, explosives and ammunition.
