KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Nov, 19— Russian airstrikes inflicted more damage on Ukraine on Thursday, with the latest barrage smashing into energy infrastructure, apartment buildings and an industrial site.
At least four people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded in drone and missile strikes around the country, authorities said.
Separately, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres announced an extension of a four-month-old deal to ensure the safe delivery of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine through the Black Sea just days before it was set to expire.
Guterres said in a statement the United Nations is also “fully committed” to removing obstacles that have impeded the export of food and fertilizer from Russia, which is one of two agreements struck between the two countries and Turkey in July. The deals signed in Istanbul are aimed to help bring down prices of food and fertilizer and avoid a global food crisis. There was no immediate confirmation of the agreement from Russia.
In southern Ukraine, a bridge was destroyed by Russian forces on Wednesday.
A bridge was destroyed by Russian forces in southern Ukraine on Wednesday.
Air raid sirens blared across Ukraine early Thursday amid fears that Moscow could unleash its latest major missile strike as the war approaches its nine-month milestone.
In Kyiv, the city’s junta said its air defense systems had shot down at least two cruise missiles and her five Iranian-made explosive drones.
After pushing back the Kremlin’s ground forces, Russia has stepped up its arsenal of airstrikes in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and other civilian targets in parts of Ukraine it doesn’t own. Ukrainian air defenses’ kill rate this week was much higher than previous barrages last month, analysts said. Part of this improvement is due to air defense systems supplied by the West.
Russian attacks hit Dnipro and the Odessa region of southern Ukraine for the first time in weeks. Valentin Leznichenko, governor of the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, said a large fire broke out in Dnipro. At least 14 people, including a teenage girl, were injured in the attack, all of whom were treated in hospitals in the city, Leznichenko said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video on Telegram saying it was one of the explosions in Dnipro. Video from a car dashcam shows a violent explosion engulfing a rainy street.
“This is another confirmation from Dnipro how terrorists want peace,” wrote Zelensky, referring to the Kremlin’s army. “A peaceful city and the people’s desire to lead a normal life. Go to work, to her business. Missile attack! ”
Elsewhere, a Russian attack on an apartment building in Bilnia, Zaporizhia region, killed at least four people overnight. According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in the Ukrainian president’s office, rescuers combed through the debris in search of more victims.
Critical infrastructure was also hit in the Izyum region, northeast of Kharkiv, and three workers were injured, the regional administration said.
Dnieper mayor Boris Filatov said in a Facebook post that one of his staff members was one of the injured and shared a photo of her court. Governor Maksim Marchenko said in a Telegram that an infrastructure target had been hit in the Odessa region and warned of the danger of a “massive rocket launch across Ukraine.”
Officials in the Poltava, Kharkov, Khmelnytsky and Rivne regions urged residents to stay in the shelters.
