NATO member Romania on Friday denied a Russian missile crossed its airspace en route to Ukraine after Kyiv said Moscow had launched a “massive” airstrike.
The new attack came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lobbied for long-range weapons visiting EU leaders in Brussels, in just his second trip abroad since Moscow attacked less than a year ago.
With the conflict approaching its first year mark, the Kremlin announced on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual state of the nation address on February 21.
Russian missiles
Last year, the Russian leader did not deliver an annual speech to lawmakers and did not hold a traditional year-end press conference.
Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny said two Russian missiles crossed the airspace of former Soviet Moldova and NATO member Romania on their way to Ukraine.
WATCH: Day in Ukraine’s Bakhmut faces Russian attack
Romania’s defense ministry said it detected “an aerial target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation” but “no point of crossing with Romanian airspace”.
Moldova’s defense ministry said it detected the missile, confirming that it “crossed Moldovan airspace.”
Moldova, which has seen Russian missile debris during the war, said it would summon the Russian ambassador over the incident.
– Attack on energy –
Kyiv residents on Friday once again took refuge, including in the subway, as Russia launched missiles and drones across the country.
“(Russia) is attacking us again,” Iryna growled. “We have to continue working. But to be safe, I went down to the subway.
“The enemy attacked cities and critical infrastructure facilities,” the air force said, adding that seven Iranian-made explosive drones were launched from the Sea of Azov and six Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea.
The air force said it had intercepted 61 of the 71 Russian missiles fired.
Russia also launched a “massive” attack with “up to 35 anti-aircraft guided missiles” targeting the Kharkiv region in the east and the Zaporizhzhia region in the south, he said.
The strikes also hit Lviv and western Khmelnytskyi regions, and 10 missiles were fired down in the capital Kyiv, officials said.
For months, Russia has been systematically targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing electricity shortages that leave millions of people in the cold and dark in the middle of winter.
Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo, said that “power plants and high-voltage network facilities” were affected in the east, west and south of Ukraine, causing power outages in some areas.
Also read: Russia does not ‘refusal to negotiate’ with Ukraine – Lavrov
It added that “the most difficult situation” is in the Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia.
Russia last targeted Ukraine with a mass attack in late January, days after Western allies agreed to send heavy tanks to Kyiv after long deliberations.
– Push Zelensky for arms-
Friday’s wave of attacks followed Zelensky’s visit to Europe, where he asked allies to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles and fighter jets as Kyiv backed a new Russian offensive in the east.
Zelensky warned that Ukraine needed artillery, ammunition, modern tanks, long-range missiles and fighter jets faster than Russia could prepare for what he said would be a dangerous new offensive.
Zelensky said he saw “positive signals, about each other’s weapons” from EU leaders and hoped the murmurs would turn into “concrete voices”.
But some EU leaders are more cautious, fearing it could drag the West closer to direct conflict with Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned that although fighter jets would be sent to Kyiv, it would not be in “the coming weeks”.
“I have not decided anything … but it does not fit the current conditions,” Macron said on Friday.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country “will not be the first to give up its fighters” but would welcome others to lead, while Britain said it would be considered a “long-term solution”.
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However, the situation has become more difficult in Ukraine’s eastern region, where months of fighting for control of Bakhmut, a key city in the eastern Donbas region, have resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.
Moscow says Russian forces are advancing in Bakhmut and Vugledar – the two main centers of fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, now the flashpoint of the war.