Russia today launched the latest in a series of devastating missile salvos against Ukraine that have destroyed vital infrastructure and buried civilians under rubble.
Nearly every major city was the target of Friday’s strike, with blasts reported in the capital Kyiv, the second largest city Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih – in the country’s center – where an apartment building was hit with people feared being buried under rubble be.
Vinnytsia in west-central Ukraine, the central city of Poltava, the southern port hub of Odessa and the northern Sumy region have also been targeted – with power and internet outages.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure for weeks after failing to win a battlefield victory, which amounts to a war crime. The goal is to break the will of Ukrainians to continue the war and trigger a new refugee crisis.
Russia launched another volley of missiles against Ukraine today, targeting virtually every major city and its key infrastructure (pictured, Kyiv shelters).
During the airstrike in central Kyiv, civilians take shelter in a subway station as the Russians fire dozens of rockets at Ukraine’s critical infrastructure
Andrii Osadchuk, a Ukrainian MP, said around 70 rockets were fired during Friday’s strikes – of which around 30 are currently thought to have been launched, although reports are still leaking out.
“They want to destroy us and make us slaves. But we won’t give up. We will persevere,” said Lidiya Vasilieva, 53, as she made her way to seek shelter at a Kiev train station.
“I want the war to be over soon. But I’m willing to wait as long as necessary,” she said.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said an apartment building in downtown Kryvyi Rih was hit and people may be trapped under the rubble.
There was no immediate news of casualties and it was not clear what critical infrastructure had been hit.
“Don’t ignore airstrikes, stay in shelters,” Tymoshenko wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
Officials in the Zaporizhia region of southeastern Ukraine warned residents of more power outages as engineers try to repair damage caused by the Russian attacks.
“We know of 15 Russian missile hits (in the region),” Oleksandr Starukh, regional governor of Zaporizhia, wrote on Telegram. “We ask citizens to prepare for possible temporary restrictions during the restoration of damaged infrastructure.”
Energy company DTEK said it was already enforcing power shutdowns in Kyiv to allow for repairs.
Women check messages on their mobile phones as civilians take shelter in a metro station during an air raid raid in central Kyiv
People protect themselves in a subway station during massive Russian rocket attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine
People rest in the subway station used as an air raid shelter during a missile attack in Kyiv
A police officer inspects part of a Russian cruise missile that was shot down over the capital Kyiv on Friday in fresh attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, has been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October, causing repeated power outages across the country as winter begins.
Moscow considers the attacks on the basic infrastructure to be militarily legitimate. Ukraine says attacks aimed at causing civilian misery are a war crime.
Kyiv has asked its western allies to send better air defense systems to repel the attacks, which have been happening almost weekly since October.
It is believed that Joe Biden is on the verge of sending Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine, in addition to the NASAMS and Iris-T systems already sent.
Patriots are among the most effective anti-missile batteries in use today, but they are difficult to operate and require a highly skilled crew of around a dozen.
America doesn’t have many of them either. There is currently only one Patriot Battalion in Europe tasked with defending Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
Other Western allies face similar problems and – even if they can supply the weapon systems themselves – do not have large stockpiles of ammunition for them.
But if Ukraine fails to find a way to defend both its civilians and vital infrastructure, Putin risks bombing the country into submission.
The hope in Moscow seems to be that if the Ukrainians’ will to fight is broken or if the West continues to support it, the quickest way to reach a peace agreement favorable to Russia is now.
Experts fear that Moscow will use any deal to pause the war long enough to rearm, intensify and renew the attack.
People rest in a subway station used as an air raid shelter during a missile attack in Kyiv
A local resident leaves his home after Russian shelling destroyed an apartment building in Bakhmut, Donetsk region (file image)
Police and investigators inspect a crater at a site of an industrial area devastated by a Russian missile attack amid the Russian attack on Ukraine