KYIV: Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens on Friday morning as five were killed overnight. Russia launched a wave of missile attacks across many of Ukraine’s biggest cities before dawn on Friday
At least two people were wounded in the town of Ukrayinka in the Kyiv region. The city’s military administration said anti-aircraft units in operation destroyed 11 missiles and two drones, with debris damaging a power line.
The attack came against the backdrop of Ukraine’ move to launch an offensive with new military equipment, including tanks, from its Western allies after Russian forces made little headway in a winter offensive.
4 were killed and 17 wounded when a missile hit an residential establishment in central town of Uman- a major pilgrimage destination for Jewish populace setting it ablaze and partially reducing it to ashes.
Reports also mentioned explosions were also reported after midnight in Dnipr killing a mother and a child, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and in Mykolaiv in the south.
The attack came a day after the Kremlin said it would welcome anything that could bring the end of the conflict closer, referring to a telephone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday. However, it still pressed to achieve the aims of its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Russian forces have suffered setbacks throughout the conflict and have been trying for 10 months to push their way into the shattered remains of Bakhmut, once a city of 70,000. Bakhmut is a stepping city for the Kremlin which it aims to take charge of.