Ukrainian officials said on Monday that Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities.
The strikes appeared to be retaliation for what Moscow alleged was Ukraine’s attack over the weekend on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Loud explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early Monday morning. Some residents received text messages from the emergency services about the threat of a missile attack. Air raid sirens were heard for three straight hours.
Large areas of Kyiv’s power and water supplies were cut off because of the strikes, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He also said local officials were working to restore a damaged energy facility that supplies power to 350,000 apartments.
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Two strikes hit critical infrastructure facilities in Kharkiv, according to officials. The subway in the area stopped operating.
Officials also warned about strikes in the city of Zaporizhzhia leading to power outages there.
Critical infrastructure was also hit in the Cherkasy region, located southeast of Kyiv. Explosions were reported in other regions of Ukraine as well.
In central Ukraine, an energy facility in the Kirovohrad region was struck, according to authorities. A missile in Vinnytsia that was shot down landed on civilian buildings, leading to damage but no reported casualties, regional governor Serhii Borzov said.
Parts of Ukrainian railways were also cut off from power, according to the Ukrainian Railways.
The strikes were launched two days after Russia claimed a Ukrainian drone attack targeted Russia’s Black Sea Fleet off the coast of the annexed Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine has denied responsibility for the attack, claiming instead that Russia mishandled its own weapons.
Still, Moscow announced halting its participation in a U.N.-brokered deal that would allow the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukraine.
In response to Russia’s strikes, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office Andriy Yermak said that Russian forces “continue to fight with civilian facilities.”
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“We will persevere, and generations of Russians will pay a high price for their disgrace,” Yermak said.
Monday’s attack was the second time this month Russia has launched a barrage of strikes on infrastructure in Ukraine. A similar attack on October 10 hit the Kerch Bridge connecting annexed Crimea to mainland Russia, an attack Moscow attributes to Kyiv.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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