Russian missiles strike vital infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv
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[January 14, 2023]
By Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth
KYIV (Reuters) -Russian missile attacks hit critical infrastructure in
Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday morning, and the
governor of another region warned that a massive missile strike could
follow in the coming hours.
Reuters journalists heard a series of blasts in Kyiv before the air raid
siren even sounded, which is highly unusual. No one was reported hurt,
but missile debris caused a fire in one place and houses were damaged
outside the capital, officials said.
"Explosions in the (eastern) Dniprovskiy district. All agencies heading
to the site. Stay in your shelters!" Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote
on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia, which invaded last February, has been pounding Ukraine's energy
infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping
blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water as winter
bites.
"An infrastructure facility was hit. No critical damage or fire. All
emergency services are working at the site. No one is wounded," Kyiv's
military administration said in a statement.
Ukrenergo, which runs the power grid, said its workers were racing to
fix the damage and that the network was grappling with a power deficit
caused by earlier attacks even though it was -2 Celsius (28 Fahrenheit)
in Kyiv, only mildly cold.
Kyiv's mayor said the debris of a missile came down on a non-residential
area in the Holosiivskiy district in the west of Kyiv, causing a fire
but hurting no one.
Residential infrastructure was also hit in the village of Kopyliv in the
region just outside the capital. The windows and roofs of 18 privately
owned houses were shattered or damaged by the blast, Oleksiy Kuleba, the
regional governor, said.
Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Russia's missiles had likely
been fired along a high, looping ballistic trajectory from the north,
which would explain why the air raid siren did not sound.
Ukraine is not able to identify and shoot down ballistic missiles, he
told the Ukrainska Pravda online outlet.
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A man stands inside a crater left by a
Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of
Kopyliv, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn
Ogirenko
MISSILES STRIKE KHARKIV
In Ukraine's northeast, Oleg Synehubov, Kharkiv's regional governor,
said two S-300 missiles struck the city near the Russian border
early on Saturday.
The attacks hit critical energy infrastructure and industrial
facilities in the Kharkiv and Chuhuev district of the region, he
said.
"Our emergency services units and energy workers are working to
liquidate the consequences and stabilise the situation with energy
supplies," he said.
The governor of the central Cherkasy region warned that a massive
Russian missile strike could follow later on Saturday, while the
governor of Mykolaiv to the south said that 17 Russian Tupolev
warplanes had taken off from their air bases.
But after their statements the air raid alarm in Kyiv and the
surrounding region was lifted.
The strikes on Saturday came as Ukrainian and Russian forces battled
for control of Soledar, a small salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine
that for days has been the focus of a relentless Russian assault.
Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar,
in what would be a rare success for Moscow after months of
battlefield reverses, but Kyiv said its troops were still fighting
in the town.
Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in Soledar.
(Writing by Tom BalmforthEditing by Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich and
Frances Kerry)
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