Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine amid a series of missile attacks across Russia, including one in Dnipro that hit a nine-story building and killed at least five people.
Rockets and explosions were heard everywhere from Lviv in the west. Kharkiv in the northeast; Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the southeast; Myokaliv in the south; Kharkiv in the northeast and officials said.
In Dnipro, another 27 people, including six children, were injured and hospitalized as a result of the apartment building strike, Dnipropetrovsk regional military chief Valentyn Reznichenko said.
Local authorities are now working to dig people out of the rubble. At least 15 people have been rescued so far, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We are fighting for every person, every life,” Zelensky said on social media.
Authorities in the capital, Kiev, said it was an “attack on the capital”. Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv region military, said the blasts were heard at 6 a.m. local time. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said the attacks took place on the eastern bank of the city, where several power plants are located. CNN could not immediately confirm the exact location of the blast. A thick fog covered the city.
However, Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Pavliuk, based in Kiev, said the explosions in Kiev were not caused by Russian attacks.
“The explosions are not related to threats from the air or air defense, nor are they related to military operations,” Pavliuk wrote on the encrypted social media app Telegram. “If there was a threat, you would have heard the alarm. The cause of the explosion will be reported separately.”
The latest salvo across Russia appears to target critical infrastructure across Ukraine as the Kremlin continues to try to limit the country’s heat and power in the middle of winter.
On the battlefield, all eyes are on the strategically valuable town of Solida, which Russia is seeking to recapture in the hope of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a symbolic victory. Various units of the Ukrainian military said Solidar was the site of “intense fighting”. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces had captured the city, despite Kiev’s denials.
After an extensive assessment of the situation on the ground in Ukraine, several Western governments have decided to respond to Zelensky’s long-standing request to supply Kiev with modern tanks.
France Poland and Britain have promised to send tanks soon for use by Ukraine’s military in its bid to defend itself from Russia. Finland is considering following suit. Britain has said it plans to send a dozen Challenger 2 tanks and more artillery systems. Poland plans to send German-made Leopard tanks, while France will send its locally-built AMX 10-RCs.
