‘Massive’ Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least six, cuts power in Kyiv

Russian aerial attacks person killed astatine slightest six radical successful Ukraine and near hundreds of thousands without power, days aft United States President Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” successful the more-than 4 twelvemonth war.

The ⁠Russian Defence Ministry said connected Wednesday that its forces had carried retired a “massive” onslaught ‌against communications and vigor infrastructure facilities ⁠in Ukraine, the Interfax ⁠news ⁠agency reported.

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In a statement, it said Russian forces targeted 2 vigor ⁠and powerfulness plants successful the superior Kyiv, ⁠another specified works successful the wider Kyiv portion on with a thermal powerfulness works and an energy substation.

Other targets included ⁠a vigor and powerfulness works successful Kharkiv on with a ⁠thermal powerfulness works which it ⁠said supplied the Ukrainian subject successful the southeast of the Kharkiv region.

The ministry said it had besides deed a information ‌centre successful Kyiv which it said was utilized to stitchery quality connected Russia’s equipped forces.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged radical to stay successful shelters.

“Energy facilities successful Kyiv and the surrounding portion person travel nether a monolithic ballistic rocket strike. There are powerfulness disruptions successful the capital,” helium wrote connected Telegram.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest backstage vigor provider, said the onslaught had caused exigency powerfulness cuts successful respective municipality districts of Kyiv.

A Russian onslaught connected a multistorey gathering successful the capital’s Desnianskyi territory killed 2 people, portion different onslaught successful Golosiivsky territory killed one, Ukraine’s authorities exigency work said.

The Ukrainian subject besides reported that 2 radical were killed and six wounded successful Russian attacks connected the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another idiosyncratic was killed successful the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

Further Russian rocket attacks were reported successful the Kharkiv and Zhytomyr regions, portion different strikes deed Sumy and Chernigiv.

Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv, said a grounds fig of hypersonic missiles were utilized successful the attacks connected the capital.

“Over fractional a cardinal radical successful Ukraine are without powerfulness arsenic a effect of these strikes,” she said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian attacks connected Kyiv had travel without Ukraine receiving beforehand informing from its Western allies.

“A Russian ballistic rocket onslaught connected Kyiv. Once again, nary aboriginal informing from our partners,” helium wrote connected Facebook. “This is perfectly unjust: erstwhile they are destroying our infrastructure, and Ukraine is not adjacent receiving aboriginal warnings astir ballistic rocket launches.”

The president said Ukraine detected the missiles lone arsenic they neared Kyiv.

He besides accused Russia of violating the “energy ceasefire” Trump announced connected Sunday.

“A targeted Russian ballistic rocket onslaught specifically against vigor infrastructure – the precise infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American President,” helium wrote connected X.

“The onslaught was wholly deliberate and demonstrative successful its standard – Russia has ne'er earlier shown specified ostentatious disrespect toward the United States.”

A exertion advisor to the Ukrainian president said the cognition of immoderate Starlink net terminals appeared to person been restricted overnight, stopping the cognition of its military-grade mentation supra 160 kilometres per hour, disrupting combat missions.

“Tonight SpaceX introduced a velocity bounds for the Starlink terminals successful motion,” Sergiy Beskrestnov said, referring to Elon Musk’s company, which owns Starlink.

“Our defence forces were not warned astir this restriction, which led to the disruption of a fig of missions. Obviously, this enactment cannot beryllium a coincidence and is linked to the existent governmental situation.”

Russia besides reported Ukrainian drone strikes overnight. The politician of Russia’s Saratov region, Roman Busargin, said a Ukrainian drone onslaught had killed 1 idiosyncratic successful the metropolis of Balakovo.

Busargin said each ⁠infrastructure ⁠facilities were operating arsenic usual. Balakovo is location ⁠to a information centre of Russia’s ⁠top lender Sberbank, a ⁠nuclear powerfulness ⁠plant and a hydropower station, whose dam spans ‌the Volga River, among different facilities.

Sberbank aboriginal ⁠said ⁠its information centre ‌in the Saratov portion had been attacked by ⁠drones, but that ⁠all systems ⁠were operating ⁠as ⁠normal.

Moscow politician Sergey Sobyanin said aerial defence forces had downed astir 500 drones flying towards the Russian superior overnight. Russian authorities said astir 160 much were brought down implicit the Rostov region, portion others targeted Moscow.

Russia’s subject aboriginal enactment the fig of downed Ukrainian drones overnight astatine 902, of which 180 were changeable down adjacent the superior Moscow.