On Thursday, the war-torn country had widespread power outages as a result of the largest Russian attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, which killed at least six people.
While the battle for control of the strategically important city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine continued on, Kyiv’s forces shot down nearly half of the missiles fired by Russia over at least 10 districts.
The normally tranquil Lviv region in western Ukraine was hit by the fatal Russian barrage on Thursday, leaving Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, without heat, water, or electricity.
In an effort to terrify Ukrainians once more, the enemy launched 81 missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia has been bombarding vital Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles and drones for months, affecting the supply of energy, heat, and water to millions of people.
The explosions in two sections of the Ukrainian capital left two people hurt, 15% of homes without power, and 40% without heating, according to Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev.
An attack left three parked cars on fire and numerous others damaged near a high-rise apartment building on Prospekt Peremogy, often known as Victory Prospect, in the west of Kyiv. Broken windows left a trail of glass on the ground.
Our windows offer views of that side. Igor Yezhov, a 60-year-old local who is originally from Russia and works as a vehicle salesman, claimed that there was a really loud crash.
– “Frightening” – “I was genuinely terrified, even though our building is a sturdy one made of reinforced concrete. However, it was terrifying. It’s destiny. At seven in the morning, people go to work. Nobody anticipates such (strikes). You need to pay closer attention whenever there is an air raid siren.”
While the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk area claimed that a 34-year-old man had been killed, the governor of the country’s western Lviv region said that five people’s remains had been discovered in the ruins of their home after being hit by a missile.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which is under Russian control and is located in Zaporizhzhia, was also unable to receive electricity as a result of the strikes, according to Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator.
The facility is presently running on diesel generators with a 10-day autonomy for the sixth time since it was taken over.
“What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces, and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
“We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days,” the head of the US-led military alliance said, adding that “this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war”.
Russian gains in eastern Ukraine may continue as a result of Bakhmut’s fall, Ukrainian officials have warned.