KYIV - Ukraine suffered its third large-scale aerial barrage of the new year, with the escalation of attacks from Russia coming as harsh weather leaves millions vulnerable to power outages.
The attack in the early hours of Saturday involved some of Moscow’s most fearsome hypersonic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said.
Air defences shot down missiles in at least five regions across the country, according to local officials.
However, no details were given on whether any targets were hit, and far less information about the attack than usual was provided by officials.
The air force warned during the attack that Russia had fired Kinzhal missiles — perhaps the hardest conventional Russian missile to shoot down, moving at several times the speed of sound.
Police in the northern region of Chernihiv posted a picture of a large crater made by a downed missile.
“As a result of being hit by the debris of an enemy missile, several private homes and non-residential buildings were damaged, one building was practically destroyed,” the police wrote, adding that a dog had been killed but no people were hurt.
Explosions were also heard in the western areas of Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne, and in the Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions in central Ukraine as air defences were working, according to local authorities.
After months of relatively few air strikes, Russia ramped up its bombardment campaign just before the New Year. Since then it has fired hundreds of missiles at cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, killing more than 45 and wounding dozens of civilians and damaging houses.
The air campaign coincides with the arrival of much colder weather, leaving millions of Ukrainians at risk from the loss of heat and electricity if power infrastructure is damaged.
Temperatures were around -13 Celsius in central Ukraine and as low as -18C in the east on Saturday morning, according to Weather Center.
Neighbouring Poland and allies scrambled jets as Moscow launched Saturday’s attack because debris of Russian missiles and drones has fallen on the European Union states’ territories on several occasions in the past.
The latest strikes came hours after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a surprise visit to Kyiv to announce a new security commitment and a pledge of £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) worth of military aid next year.
Sunak and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed a 10-year security cooperation agreement as Ukraine seeks to repel Russian forces who invaded almost two years ago.
Stephane Sejourne, appointed this week as France’s foreign minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle, is also expected to visit Kyiv this weekend.
Separately, Kyiv said preliminary evidence showed Moscow’s forces likely used missiles provided by North Korea in the Jan 2 attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
South Korea’s defence minister said on Thursday that Pyongyang was looking to step up military cooperation with Russia by sending new types of tactical guided missiles in hopes of securing substantial aid to keep its economy afloat.