12/16/2022 08:41 (act. 12/16/2022 08:50)
Fear of further destruction in Kyiv ©APA/AFP
New airstrikes are reported in Ukraine on Friday. The mayor of the city of Kharkiv reported several explosions that could be heard in the city. Infrastructure facilities would be attacked. In the capital Kyiv, further west, Portal reporters report that the missile defense system is in use. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said there were explosions in Kyiv.
Previously, there was an air alert. Authorities appealed to the population to protect themselves. “Don’t ignore the air alert, stay in shelters,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, wrote in Telegram on Friday. Since October, the Russian military has attacked Ukraine’s power infrastructure in several waves. This has led to power outages across the country.
According to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS, at least eight people were killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by Russian troops. Another 23 people were injured when rockets hit the village of Lantrativka. TASS refers to unspecified emergency services sources. A building in the area was destroyed and some people were trapped under the rubble, he said.