Iran Press / Iran News: Kremlin bombers, warships, and ground platforms launched more than 100 cruise missiles and kamikaze drones in at least two waves of attacks this morning.
“More than 120” missiles hit the country, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak.
“Several explosions” were heard in Kyiv, injuring three people, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram, adding that “16 missiles (had) been destroyed” in the sky of the capital by Ukrainian air defense forces.
40 percent of Kyiv residents are without electricity, the mayor said, adding the city was “supplying heat and water in normal mode, except for the houses where there is no power supply.”
Four missiles aimed at “critical infrastructure” hit Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, according to the region’s governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Russian Tu-22 strategic bombers out of the range of Ukrainian weapons fired the majority of the missiles. According to early estimates from Ukraine’s air defense command, between 10 and 12 bombers launched as many as 72 weapons.
Most were cruise missiles carrying 200-300-kilogram high explosive warheads.
Russian warships off the shore of the Crimean peninsula fired a follow-up salvo of Kinzhal missiles.
The launches began around 7 a.m. and continued for some two hours.
The Russians appeared to be attempting to complicate defense against the attacks by, at times, programming indirect flight paths.
Missiles en route to Kyiv targets reportedly entered Ukrainian air space from the northeast, east, and south.
In Kyiv, explosions were heard around the city by Kyiv Post reporters. The Kyiv city administration reported one weapon hit “power infrastructure” in Brovary, a suburb to the northeast.
Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing to evaluate the damage and find potential victims, Syniehubov said.
Russia has been increasingly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks, causing frequent blackouts in several cities throughout the country, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Moscow of using the winter season as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
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