Ukraine says key infrastructure hit in latest Russian attacks

Kyiv:

Ukraine reported a fresh barrage of Russian missiles and civilian deaths on Saturday, as Britain became the first Western country to offer it the heavy tanks it has long sought.

The British move drew a sharp reaction from Moscow, which warned that it would only “intensify” the conflict.

Meanwhile, Moldova said debris from the latest Russian missiles landed on its territory and condemned the attacks.

Ukraine also insisted on Saturday that fighting was continuing in Soledar, a day after Russia claimed it had captured the devastated eastern city after a protracted battle.

Victory would be a rare feat for Moscow after a series of military setbacks.

Ukrainian officials condemned the latest wave of deadly Russian missile attacks across the country as the country celebrated the Old New Year, a popular holiday in Ukraine.

Dnipropetrovsk governor Valentin Reznichenko said on the messaging app Telegram that at least 12 people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed and 64 injured when an apartment building collapsed in the eastern city of Dnipro.

He said that seven children were among the injured, the youngest of whom was three years old.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later said: “It is not yet known how many people are under the rubble. Unfortunately, the death toll is rising every hour.”

Mykhaylo Podolyak, an aide to Ukraine’s president, called for Russia to be expelled from the UN Security Council.

Britain sending first heavy tank

Earlier on Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, the first western country to supply the heavy tanks, with Kyiv crying foul.

Russia’s embassy in Britain swiftly issued a warning that “bringing tanks into the conflict zone, far from ending hostilities, would only serve to intensify combat operations, causing more casualties including civilian populations”.

But in his evening address on Saturday, President Zelensky argued that Russian “terror” can only be stopped on the battlefield.

“It can and must be done on our land, in our sky, in our sea,” he said.

Ukraine’s southwestern neighbor Moldova said on Saturday that it had found missile debris on its territory after Russia’s latest attack.

“Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine again has a direct impact on Moldova,” President Maia Sandu tweeted, posting pictures of the wreckage.

“We strongly condemn today’s intense attacks.”

energy infrastructure hit

Ukrainergo, the operator of Ukraine’s energy facilities, said it was working to “eliminate the consequences” of the latest Russian attacks.

In Kyiv, AFP reporters heard several explosions, while Ukrainian officials reported an attack on a power facility.

The Kyiv city administration said “infrastructure was destroyed without any casualties or damage from the fire.”

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, “the enemy launched another missile attack on important infrastructure and industrial facilities,” said governor Oleg Sinegubov.

Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Saturday that an emergency blackout had been imposed in “most regions” of Ukraine because of the latest attacks.

Attacks were also reported in the southern Zaporizhia region.

Zelensky said that Ukraine had managed to shoot down 20 of the more than 30 Russian missiles.

“Unfortunately, energy infrastructure facilities have also been affected,” he said, with Kharkiv and Kyiv regions suffering the most.

Soledar’s status disputed

There was still uncertainty about the fate of Soledar, a salt mining outpost that Russia claimed to have captured, against denials from Ukraine.

Both sides accepted heavy losses in the fighting for the town.

Ukraine’s military governor in the crisis-hit region east of Donetsk insisted on Saturday that “Soledar is controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, our military controls it.”

“The fighting continues inside and outside the city,” he added.

He was responding to claims by Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday that it had “completed the liberation” of Soledar the previous day.

The industrial city with a pre-war population of around 10,000 is now reduced to rubble due to the intense fighting.

The capture of Soledar could improve the situation for Russian forces as they move towards the nearby transport crossroads of Bakhmut, their main target since October.

Turkey said on Saturday it was ready to push for a local ceasefire in Ukraine and warned that neither Moscow nor Kyiv had the military means to “win the war”.

Ibrahim Kalin, a foreign policy adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, admitted it did not appear the warring sides were ready to strike a “comprehensive peace deal” in the coming months.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)