War in Ukraine: Russia launches massive rocket attack while people were asleep

Russia unleashed “a massive attack with rockets” which affected critical infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions of Ukraine. Authorities said at least nine died in the largest nighttime attack of its kind in three weeks.

President Volodimir Zelensky described the bombing that took place while many people slept, as an attempt by Moscow to “intimidate the Ukrainians again”.

“The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That’s all they can doZelensky said in a statement.

The war has largely become to a standstill on the battlefield during the winter, stranded in these hours in the race for control of a minor city, Bakhmut, but whose fall into Russian hands can influence the course of the conflict.

Kremlin forces began attacking Ukraine’s electricity supply last October in an apparent attempt to demoralize the civilian population.

The attacks have since become less frequent, with analysts speculating that Russia may have run out of ammunition. The last major bombing took place on February 16th.

However, in the night of Wednesday to Thursday, Russia came back with the same thing. The massive new attack fell on ten different areas of Ukraine, including the capital, kyiv, and other major cities in the country such as Kharkov, Mykolaiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities.

In the attack, Russia used dozens of cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea.

Russia said it used its self-made Kinjal hypersonic missile in the attacks.

Kinjal, which means dagger, is carried by Mig-31 aircraft and can bypass most air defense systems.​

The victims

At least nine people have been killed in various parts of Ukraine as a result of massive shelling.

The shelling killed at least five people in the Lviv region in the west, another civilian in Dnipropetrovsk in the southeast and three more in the Kherson region in the east.

As explained in his Telegram account, Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the military administration of the Lviv region, “in the Zolochiv district, an enemy missile landed on a residential areawhere a fire broke out.

“(…) There are four dead. They are four adults. Two men and two women”, he added, before specifying that the victims were at home when the missile fell.

Later, Kozytskyi confirmed the death of another neighbor, “a 60-year-old man.”

Rescue teams continued to clear the rubble on Thursday, as more people may be underneath.

According to the head of the military administration, the fire destroyed at least three residential buildings and also involved three cars, a garage and various outbuildings.

Ihor Hrynkiv, mayor of the city of Zolochiv, Lviv region, said that the tragedy occurred in the city of Velyka Vilshanytsia and explained that rescue teams are searching under the rubble for another missing person.

Russian forces also attacked the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones and missiles, where one civilian was killed and two others injured, according to Serhii Lysak, head of the regional military administration.

“A 34-year-old man was killed in an artillery barrage. A 28-year-old woman and a 19-year-old boy were injured. They were hospitalized. Enemy attacks caused several fires in the district (Nikopol),” according to Lysak.

In the Kherson region, partially controlled by Russia, shelling killed three people, according to the military administration.

“Two of the victims they were waiting at a public transport stop and a woman in a shop was killed by shell fragments,” according to the sources.

Ukrainian settlements on the western bank of the Dnipro River, including the city of Kherson, they were subjected to constant bombardments Russians on the other side since they were liberated by Ukrainian forces in November 2022.

EFE and AP​

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