Russia launched a vast series of strikes on several cities in Ukraine, including the capital kyiv, on Friday morning, with “a record number of missiles” which, according to Ukrainian authorities, left at least 16 dead and 97 injured.
NATO member Poland said Friday that an unidentified flying object had entered its airspace from Ukraine, an incident that could be linked to the strikes.
“Today, Russia has used almost all types of weapons in its arsenal,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
According to the Air Force, 158 missiles and drones were fired at Ukraine, of which 114 were destroyed.
“This is the most massive missile attack in general,” air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told AFP, adding that the count excluded the first few days of the war which saw “constant and uninterrupted” strikes.
The strikes targeted “civilian installations, civilian buildings,” denounced Andriy Yermak, Mr. Zelensky’s chief of staff.
“We are doing everything possible to strengthen our air shield. But the world must see that we need more help and means to stop this terror,” he added on the social network Telegram.
On Wednesday, Washington released the last tranche of military aid granted to kyiv until further notice by the American Congress.
At least 16 people were killed and 97 injured, according to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriï Kostin.
“Horrible reality”
These strikes illustrate “the horrible reality” experienced by Ukrainians, reacted on X the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, condemning “a hateful wave of attacks”.
They come after Russia confirmed on Tuesday that one of its ships, the large landing ship Novocherkassk, had been damaged in an attack on kyiv in annexed Crimea.
In kyiv, where the “anti-aircraft defense is actively functioning” according to its mayor Vitali Klitschko, AFP journalists heard several loud explosions in the early hours.
In the Podil district in the north of kyiv, a 3,000 m hangar2 was on fire. There was a strong smell of burning plastic at the scene as firefighters wearing oxygen masks battled the flames.
Around ten people were believed to be stuck inside, according to the head of the capital’s military administration, Serguiï Popko.
A metro station used as an air raid shelter was damaged, as were several apartment buildings and other hangars.
According to authorities, two people were killed in the capital. Elsewhere, at least five others were in the Dnipropetrovsk region (central-east), two in Odessa (south), one in Lviv (west), one in Zaporizhia (south) and one in Kharkiv (north-east). .
The Health Ministry said a maternity hospital in Dnipro was “severely damaged”, but patients and staff were able to shelter in time. A shopping center was also hit and caught fire in the city.
Russia’s ‘huge losses’
Russia is suffering “enormous” losses in men and equipment in its war in Ukraine and its army will emerge “weakened” from the conflict, said in an interview published Friday, General Christian Freuding, who oversees support for Kiev within the Bundeswehr.
“You know that, according to figures from Western intelligence services, 300,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or so seriously injured that they can no longer be mobilized in the war,” he told the German daily South German Zeitung.
It thus confirms an assessment by the American intelligence services which had leaked on December 12, and according to which 315,000 Russian soldiers have been injured or killed since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
At the same time, the general recognized that Russia demonstrated a “resistance capacity” greater than what Western countries assessed at the start of the war. “Maybe we didn’t see, or we didn’t want to see, that they are able to continue to get supplies from allies.”