Breathing space: A rescuer next to a Kiev apartment building damaged in a rocket attack
Image: Reuters
On Thursday, the Russian army fired numerous rockets at Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure. Although the air defenses were able to intercept many, there were also injuries and destruction in Kyiv.
An Thursday, the Russian army launched mass rockets and cruise missiles into Ukraine. The attacks were again directed against the country’s civilian infrastructure. There had already been drone attacks on cities in several Ukrainian regions on Wednesday evening and on Thursday night. On Thursday morning there was an air alert throughout Ukraine. Later there was talk of a total of three waves of attacks that lasted more than five hours.
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak initially spoke on Twitter of more than 120 rockets being fired into Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian general staff later spoke of 69 missiles, 54 of which had been intercepted by the air defenses. There were impacts in the Kharkiv, Odessa, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, among others. According to Ukrainian information, the Russian armed forces again used S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to engage ground targets.
Millions of people without electricity
The rockets and cruise missiles were apparently launched from both bombers and ships in the Black Sea. Authorities said that 16 missiles were intercepted by anti-aircraft defenses in the capital Kyiv alone. However, several civilians were injured and buildings and vehicles damaged by falling rocket parts.
Because of the attacks, millions of people were temporarily left without electricity. Critical infrastructure often had to be converted to generator operation. According to authorities, about ninety percent of Lviv’s urban area was without electricity after the attacks.
Russia boasted about the attacks on the neighboring country’s civilian infrastructure. The Kremlin portrays them as retaliation for alleged “terrorist attacks” by Kiev, for example on the Crimean Bridge. The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday released an image showing a cruise missile being launched. The picture is captioned “Kalibr never run out”.
