Russia-Ukraine war: In one of the biggest attacks, Russia on Friday showered a series of missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital city, killing at least three people and injuring more than 100. According to the local administration, it was the first time when Kyiv was targeted in such a brutal way, wherein the "aggressor fired at least 70-80 missiles within hours. Some of the missiles hit the electricity facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporhizhzhia, resulting in citizens living without electricity and water. According to an official, the subway system was out of service and unlikely to be back in operation Saturday.
Friday’s attacks took place after the United States this week agreed to give a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine to boost the country’s defence. Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that the sophisticated system and any crews accompanying it would be a legitimate target for the Russian military. The US also pledged last month to send $53 million in energy-related equipment to help Ukraine withstand the attacks on its infrastructure. John Kirby, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Friday that the first tranche of that aid had arrived in the country.
Ukrainian air defence shot down 37 of about 40 missiles
More than half the Russian missiles fired Friday targeted Ukraine’s capital. The city administration said Kyiv withstood “one of the biggest rocket attacks” it has faced since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 10 months ago. Ukrainian air defence shot down 37 of about 40 missiles that entered the city’s airspace, and one person was injured, it said.
Ukraine’s air force said Russian forces fired cruise missiles from the Admiral Makarov frigate in the Black Sea, while Kh-22 cruise missiles were fired from long-range Tu-22M3 bombers over the Sea of Azov, and tactical aircraft fired guided missiles.
In Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine, the apartment building hit by a missile had a gaping hole in its upper floors. Along with the three people killed, at least 13 were taken to the hospital, said Igor Karelin, deputy head of the city’s emergency services.
Rescue teams with sniffer dogs searched through the debris for a missing mother and her 18-month-old child.
Also at Kryvyi Rih, nearly 600 miners were stuck underground because of the missile strikes, but were later rescued, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on state TV.
(With inputs from AP)
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