Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities kill 18, Zelenskiy says
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[January 24, 2024]
By Yurii Kovalenko and Sergiy Karazy
KYIV (Reuters) - Russian missiles hit Ukraine's two largest cities,
killing 18 people, injuring more than 130 and damaging homes and
infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said as Moscow's war
approaches its third year.
The eastern city of Kharkiv suffered three waves of attacks. There were
strikes on Kyiv and in central Ukraine and the southern region of
Kherson, subject to constant shelling.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said Russia had launched nearly
40 missiles of different types in "another combined strike to try to
circumvent our air defence system".
More than 200 sites were hit, including 139 dwellings, with many deaths
in "an ordinary high-rise apartment building. Ordinary people lived
there," he said.
Kharkiv's mayor and the governor of Kharkiv region said eight people had
been killed in the city, which has been subjected to repeated attacks in
23 months of war.
Ukraine's Emergency Services posted online a video of teams sifting
through a shattered apartment building. Police said search operations
were suspended before midnight as there was a danger of debris falling
on rescue squads.
Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said more than 100 high-rise
blocks had been damaged in the first two attacks. He said there were
three hits in the evening on an apartment block and other
infrastructure, injuring seven.
Ukraine's General Staff said the country's armed forces had destroyed 22
of 44 missiles of various types. Nearly 20 had been shot down over Kyiv,
the city's military administration said.
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The strikes coincided with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov telling the
latest international ministerial meeting on Kyiv's defence needs that
Russia was stepping up missile attacks.
Over the past two months, he said, Russian forces had used more than 600
missiles and more than 1,000 drones.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said after the meeting that
Berlin would send six "Sea King" helicopters to Ukraine later this year,
the first delivery of its kind.
WOUNDED IN KYIV
In Kyiv, emergency services said 22 people, including four children, had
been wounded across at least three districts. At one site, rescuers
tended to dazed and groaning victims as workers swept away debris and
broken glass.
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![](../images/012424PIX/news_l84.jpg)
An explosion of a missile is seen in the sky over the city during a
Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv,
Ukraine January 23, 2024. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
"There was a very loud bang, and my mother was already running
outside, shouting that we need to leave. We all went to the
corridor," said Daniel Boliukh, 21.
"Then, we went on the balcony to have a look, and saw all these
buildings were on fire."
Emergency services said apartment buildings, medical and educational
institutions were damaged in Kyiv. Some of the damage occurred next
to the United Nations office, resident coordinator Denise Brown said
in a statement.
The Kremlin, asked to comment on the strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv,
said the Russian military does not target civilians.
Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian aircraft
had pounded his region throughout the day. Officials said two people
had died. One person was killed in the southeastern city of
Pavlohrad, the regional governor said.
The attacks damaged a gas pipeline in Kharkiv and thousands were
left without power after infrastructure was hit.
Russia has carried out regular air strikes on cities and civilian
infrastructure far behind the front lines since its invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022.
Its troops, meanwhile, are attacking along the sprawling eastern
front and seeking to seize the initiative, Ukraine's military says.
Russian forces have increasingly employed a mix of air- and
land-based missiles that are more difficult to shoot down.
Moscow accused Kyiv on Sunday of shelling the Russian-occupied
eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, killing 27 people. Ukrainian
forces said Russia bore responsibility for the attack.
The Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday it had struck
enterprises producing missiles, explosives and ammunition.
(Additional reporting by Olena Harmash, Pavel Polityuk, Dan
Peleschuk and Max Hunder; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by David
Gregorio and Stephen Coates)
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