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Russia unleashed strategic bombers, killer drones and rockets in an attack on Ukrainian targets early Friday, as a military push by Moscow that Kyiv said had been brewing for days appeared to pick up the pace ahead of the one-year anniversary of the invasion.
Kremlin forces are targeting the bombardment of Ukraine’s industrial east, mainly in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, the Ukrainian military said. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there since 2014.
But the barrage went further, targeting the capital, Kyiv. It also hit critical infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast. Seven people were injured there, two seriously, said Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Air raid sirens went off across the country.
The bombing could be a Russian attempt to weaken Ukraine’s defenses ahead of a ground attack, which Kyiv says Moscow is planning in the east. There has been little change in the battlefield position for weeks.
Zaporizhzhia faces a relentless barrage: official
Kyiv officials have been expecting a new Moscow push, especially in the east, as the Kremlin seeks to secure areas it illegally annexed and where it claims its rule is accepted.
High-voltage infrastructure facilities were affected in the eastern, western and southern regions, Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo said, causing power outages in some areas. It is the 14th round of massive attacks on the country’s resources, the company said. The latter happened on January 26 when Moscow tried to demoralize Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and water in the bitter winter.
Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatolii Kurtiev said the city was hit 17 times in an hour, which he said was the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched up to 35 S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia provinces. The missile cannot be destroyed in mid-air by air defenses but has a relatively short range so Russia has used it for attacks in areas not far from Russian-held territory.
Khmelnytskyi province in western Ukraine was also attacked with Shahed drones, according to regional Governor Serhii Hamalii.
Russia has previously used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack key Ukrainian infrastructure and spread fear among civilians, according to Western analysts. It is known as a suicide drone because it is nosed towards a target and explodes on impact like a missile.
WATCH | Ukraine’s drone challenge:
Ukraine’s short-range air defenses, also known as ‘drone hunters,’ have been wary of low-flying drones that attack critical infrastructure. But the country says it needs fighter jets as Russian attacks escalate in the country’s east.
The attack added a sense of urgency to Ukraine’s demands for Western military support.
The need prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a rare – and daring – two-day trip abroad this week to press allies to provide more aid to Kyiv.
The power is off
Due to the threat of a missile attack, an emergency power outage was imposed in Kyiv city, Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to private energy operator DTEK. The head of the Kyiv City Administration, Serhii Popko, said that “there is a huge threat of a missile attack” because the Tu-95 strategic bombers are in the air, which can carry cruise missiles on board.
The head of the Kryvyi Rih city administration confirmed that Russia had launched a missile and urged people to go to shelters.
Moscow’s ambitions have waned since launching a full-scale invasion, when the capital Kyiv and puppet government installations were among the targets, and it is now focusing its efforts on gaining full control over the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as the Donbas.
The numerous setbacks on the battlefield, including the return of the initially captured eastern territories, have embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moldovan PM resigns
Meanwhile, in Moldova, Ukraine’s neighbor to the southwest, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita announced Friday that her government is stepping down, after 18 months of turmoil in power marked by economic turmoil and the aftershocks of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The former Soviet republic of 2.5 million has suffered from soaring inflation and tension in the past year due to an influx of Ukrainian refugees.
It has also experienced blackouts following Russian airstrikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and has struggled to wean itself off dependence on Russian gas.
Protests erupted over price hikes, particularly for gas from Moscow, which the central government in Chisinau described as part of a Kremlin-sponsored campaign to undermine the government.
Gavrilita took office in August 2021 after the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party won a majority in parliament with a mandate to clean up corruption.
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