KIEV (Reuters)Jan,14– Russia fired a second wave of missiles into Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing people into hiding. Sirens blared just hours after morning airstrikes targeted Kyiv’s vital infrastructure and hit the eastern city of Kharkov.
Authorities in Mykolaiv, the western city of Lviv and the Black Sea port of Odessa said air defenses were trying to shoot down incoming missiles. Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported that an explosion was heard in the central Vynytsa region.
No injuries were reported after the first wave, but officials said debris from the rocket caused a fire in one location and damaged homes outside the capital.
“An infrastructure facility has been attacked. No fatal damage or fire. All emergency services are on site. No one was injured,” the Kyiv military government said in a statement.
His Ukrenergo, which runs the power grid, said despite it being minus two degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kyiv, its workers are rushing to repair the damage and the power grid has been damaged by previous attacks. said it was suffering from a power shortage.
DTEK, the largest private electricity company, has introduced emergency blackouts in Kiev, Kyiv region and Odessa region. The mayor of Kiev said fragments of rockets fell on a non-residential area in Kyiv’s western Khoroshivsky district and caused a fire, but no one was injured.
Housing infrastructure was also affected in Kopilib village, an area just outside the capital. The blast shattered or damaged the windows and roofs of 18 houses, according to state governor Oleksiy Kleva.
Air Force spokesman Yuri Inat said the Russian missile was likely fired from the north.
Ukraine is unable to identify and shoot down ballistic missiles, he told online portal Ukrainezka Pravda. Moscow, which invaded last February, has been bombing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing widespread blackouts and disruptions to central heating and water supply over the winter.
His second attack on Saturday came hours after Reuters journalists heard a series of explosions in Kyiv early in the morning, before the highly unusual air raid sirens went off. The extent of damage and casualties from the second wave is not yet known.
Oleg Sinekhbov, governor of the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, said two of his S-300 missiles hit a city near the Russian border early Saturday morning.
The attacks hit critical energy infrastructure and industrial facilities in the Kharkov and Chukhev districts of the region, he said. “Our emergency services and energy workers are working to eliminate consequences and stabilize the energy supply situation,” he said.
Saturday’s strike came as Ukrainian and Russian forces fought for control of Soledar, a small salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine.
Russia said on Friday that its forces had recaptured Soledar after months of battlefield setbacks, while Kyiv said its forces were still fighting in the city.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the status of Soledar.
