‘Massive’ Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least six, cuts power in Kyiv

Russian air attacks on Ukraine kill at least six and cause power cuts in Kyiv.

The full report

Russian air attacks have killed at least six people in Ukraine and caused power cuts in parts of the capital Kyiv, according to Al Jazeera English. The attacks occurred days after United States President Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” in the more-than four year war.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out a “massive” strike against communications and energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, as reported by Interfax news agency. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged people to remain in shelters, stating that energy facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region had come under a massive ballistic missile strike.

DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy provider, reported that the attack had caused emergency power cuts in several urban districts of Kyiv. A Russian strike on a multistorey building in the capital's Desnianskyi district killed two people, while another attack in Golosiivsky district killed one, according to Ukraine's state emergency service.

The Ukrainian military also reported that two people were killed and six wounded in Russian attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another person was killed in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Further Russian missile attacks were reported in the Kharkiv and Zhytomyr regions, while other strikes hit Sumy and Chernigiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of violating the “energy ceasefire” announced by Trump, stating that Ukraine detected the missiles only as they neared Kyiv. He also accused Russia of showing ostentatious disrespect toward the United States.

The president's statement on Facebook read: “A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Once again, no early warning from our partners. This is absolutely unjust: when they are destroying our infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches.”