This photo shows a critical power infrastructure object on fire after a drone attack on Kyiv, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Supinsky AFP Getty Images
Russian missile strikes hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv on Friday morning, and utility companies imposed emergency power cuts in the capital and two other regions.
Reuters reporters heard several explosions in Kyiv before air raid sirens even sounded, which is unusual. No one was reported hurt, but missile debris caused a fire in one place and damaged houses outside the capital, officials said.
“Explosion in Dniprovskiy district (east). All agencies headed to the site. Stay in your shelter!” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia, which invaded last February, has been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water during the winter.
“An infrastructure facility was hit. There was no critical damage or fire. All emergency services were used at the site. No one was injured,” the Kyiv military administration said in a statement.
Ukrenergo, which runs the power grid, said workers were racing to repair the damage and that the grid was experiencing power outages caused by earlier attacks even though it was -2 Celsius (28 Fahrenheit) in Kyiv, just a little colder.
DTEK, the largest private electricity company, introduced emergency blackouts in Kyiv, Kyiv region and Odesa region.
Metropolitan Oleksandr conducts a religious service with clergy at the Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Jesus in the wake of a recent Russian rocket attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022.
Efrem Lukatsky AP
Kyiv’s mayor said debris from a missile landed in a non-residential area of Holosiivskiy district in western Kyiv, causing a fire but no one was injured.
Housing infrastructure was also affected in the village of Kopyliv in the area outside the capital. The windows and roofs of 18 privately owned houses were shattered or damaged by the blast, said Oleksiy Kuleba, the regional governor.
Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the Russian missile had been fired along a high ballistic trajectory from the north, which would explain why the air raid sirens did not sound.
Ukraine cannot identify and shoot down ballistic missiles, he told online outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
Missiles hit Kharkiv
In northeastern Ukraine, Oleg Synehubov, the governor of Kharkiv region, said two S-300 missiles struck a town near the Russian border on Saturday.
The attack hit critical energy infrastructure and industrial facilities in the Kharkiv and Chuhuev districts of the region, he said.
“Emergency service units and our energy workers are working to eliminate the consequences and stabilize the situation with energy supply,” he said.
The governor of the central Cherkasy region warned that a major Russian missile attack was possible on Saturday, while the governor of Mykolaiv in the south said 17 Russian Tupolev fighter jets had taken off from the air base.
But after the statement, air raid alarms in Kyiv and other regions were raised, indicating the immediate threat had passed.
Saturday’s attack comes as Ukrainian and Russian forces battle for control of Soledar, a small salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine that has been the focus of sustained Russian attacks for days.
Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar, marking a rare success for Moscow after months of back-and-forth fighting, but Kyiv said its forces were still fighting in the town.
Reuters could not immediately verify the situation at Soledar.