(Kyiv) Russian strikes again targeted infrastructure in Ukraine during the night from Saturday to Sunday, killing at least one person, Ukrainian authorities said, claiming to have shot down nine missiles and nine enemy drones.
In the Lviv region (West), “the enemy attacked with cruise missiles the same essential infrastructure […] previously referred to on March 24 and 29. An administrative building was damaged,” said the governor, Maksym Kozytsky.
“One man died as a result of the attack. My condolences to his family. Rescuers search through the rubble. There could be other people underneath,” he added on Telegram, without specifying the type of infrastructure affected.
In its daily report, the Russian army said on Sunday that it had targeted electricity, gas and infrastructure linked to the Ukrainian military industry with missiles and drones.
The Ukrainian operator Ukrenergo claimed that Russian forces had notably targeted “high voltage substations […] in the southern regions. Due to the damage suffered, emergency power cuts were introduced in the city of Odessa and surrounding areas, Ukrenergo said.
“There is not a night or a day without Russian terror trying to shatter our lives again. Last night they fired more missiles and [drones] Shahed on people,” President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced on Sunday.
PHOTO OZAN KOSE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
President Volodymyr Zelensky
Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that it had shot down nine cruise missiles and nine Russian Shahed explosive drones during the nighttime strikes.
Ukrainian forces in the south of the country, on Telegram, clarified that two Russian missiles had hit an agricultural enterprise in the Kherson region, without causing any casualties.
Over the past 24 hours, more than 1,500 Russian artillery shots have also hit 14 localities in the Donetsk region (east), killing at least two civilians and injuring five others, Ukrainian police said on Sunday.
A 19-year-old man was killed and another injured in Borova, Kharkiv region, and two other civilians injured in the city of Kharkiv during strikes on Saturday evening and overnight, the regional governor reported on Telegram.
Moscow has stepped up its airstrikes against Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting the energy network in particular and saying it is in retaliation for Kyiv’s attacks in its border regions.
The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, indicated on Sunday that at least 19 Ukrainian artillery or drone shots had hit this region in the last 24 hours, without causing any casualties.
Russia carried out massive bombings against Ukraine’s electricity grid on Friday, seriously damaging at least three thermal power plants and prompting authorities to introduce emergency cuts in seven regions.
Faced with these bombings, Kyiv is asking its Western allies to send it more aid, in particular anti-aircraft defense systems.
The operator Ukrenergo clarified on Sunday that energy restrictions are still in force in the regions of Kharkiv (East) and in the town of Kryvyï Rih, without indicating the number of users affected.