Ukrainian officials said that the Russian forces launched today, Friday, a missile attack, which they described as the largest since the start of the war last February, on Ukrainian cities and provinces, including the capital, Kyiv, targeting energy facilities, infrastructure and residential buildings.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ignat, said that the Russian missile attack, which targeted a number of the country's provinces, was carried out by about 60 missiles launched from the Caspian and Black Seas.

He added that the Ukrainian air defenses had performed their work successfully, as he put it.

And the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, announced that "the air force shot down 37 out of about 40 missiles launched by Russia at Kyiv early Friday."


Water and electricity cuts

The city's mayor, Vitaly Klishko, also said that explosions occurred east of the capital, damaging the energy infrastructure, and causing interruptions in water supplies in most areas, and metro traffic was stopped because its tunnels were used as shelters.

Many took refuge in these shelters during the morning rush hour to escape the massive missile attack, which a Kyiv official described as one of the largest since the Russian "invasion" began.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, the authorities said the Russian missile attack led to a complete blackout.

The mayor of Kharkiv spoke of "massive" damage that threatens to deprive many people of heating in very cold weather, while the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region in the center of the country said that "serious damage" occurred there.

The Russian missile attack also extended to regions, towns and cities in the southern provinces of Odessa, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia.

After the Russian bombing, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushenko said that there would be power outages due to a decrease in generation capacity, and that nine energy facilities were damaged in the south and east of the country as a result of the bombing of infrastructure.

The Ukrainian presidency also announced the introduction of an emergency power outage system throughout the country, due to the targeting of energy facilities.


Counter-bombing

In the Donbass region, the pro-Russian authorities in Lugansk province announced the death of 13 people and the loss of 20 others in the Ukrainian bombing of “HIMARS” missiles and artillery, targeting residential buildings in two towns belonging to the province.

In Donetsk, the pro-Russian authorities said that the death toll from the Ukrainian bombing had risen to 3.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian authorities announced that two people were killed and others wounded in a Russian bombing that targeted a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also announced that its forces had destroyed a missile and artillery depot belonging to the Ukrainian army in Kharkiv, and a radar station for the "S-300" anti-aircraft missile system in Donetsk Province.

The ministry added that Russian air defense systems intercepted 4 Ukrainian drones and two HIMARS missiles in the area.