Russian missiles strike Ukraine cities, officials say

Three Russian rockets launched against Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region are seen at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 9, 2023. (Photo: Vadim Belikov/ AP)

According to the Ukrainian government and media sources, Russia has launched missiles towards Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

The missile attacks triggered air raid sirens over Ukraine early Thursday morning.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv reported explosions in the Holosiivskyi area in the city's southern region.

"All services are en route to the location," he posted on social media.

According to Governor Oleh Syniehubov, fifteen missiles attacked the city of Kharkiv and the surrounding territory in eastern Ukraine, striking residential buildings. He pledged to provide more information about the extent of the damage and any casualties in the second-largest city in Ukraine.

"Critical infrastructure objects are once again in the sights of the occupants," he wrote in a Telegram message.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov of Kharkiv claimed on Telegram that there were "electricity issues" in some city regions.

In the Odesa region, Governor Maksym Marchenko reported via Telegram that a mass missile strike had disabled a port city's electricity facilities.

Anti-aircraft troops had intercepted several missiles, and he urged locals to remain in shelters as further strikes were possible.

"There are fortunately no casualties. "Restrictions on electricity are in effect," the governor noted.

In several regions, Ukrainian Railways reported power disruptions. Five trains were more than an hour late, while ten were more than thirty minutes late.

Preventative emergency power outages were implemented in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Odesa, according to DTEK. According to Klitschko, 15 per cent of the city's energy consumers were without electricity due to the emergency blackouts.

Other explosions were recorded in the cities of Chernihiv, Dnipro, Lutsk, and Rivne, as well as the region of western Lviv.

In addition to Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil, explosions were recorded in the western regions of Ivano-Frankivsk and Ivano-Frankivsk.

Since October of last year, Russia has launched missile attacks against Ukraine.

Initially, the barrages targeting the country's energy infrastructure occurred weekly, throwing entire cities into darkness. However, the barrages became less frequent as time passed, prompting speculation that Russia may be stockpiling ammo.

The last bombardment occurred on February 16.

Publish : 2023-03-09 11:04:00

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