A Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed five people and injured 27 others. This was announced by the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region Valentin Reznichenko, quoted by Reuters. A residential building was hit.
All the injured are in hospital, Reznichenko said. Six children are among the injured.
The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said rescuers were trying to evacuate people from the building.
According to him, there are probably people buried under the rubble, the Associated Press points out.
It also hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian missile strikes on critical infrastructure in Kyiv. Reuters journalists heard a series of explosions in the Ukrainian capital, after which air raid sirens began wailing.
An infrastructural object was struck, the Kyiv city administration said, but did not specify which one, BTA reported.
“Explosions in the Dnipro region. Representatives of all services are going to the scene. Stay in your shelters!” Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko wrote in “Telegram”, quoted by Reuters.
Earlier this morning, explosions rang out in Kyiv. The Ukrainian army reassured residents of the capital that the explosions were not related to the war and promised to provide details later.
North of Kyiv, a residential building was hit in the village of Kopilov, near Bucha. The windows of nearby houses were broken, the Associated Press reported, citing Kyrillo Tymoshenko.
Earlier this morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said.
According to his information, two S-300 missiles fell in an industrial area. The damage is being clarified, but there are no reports of injured people.
An air alert has been declared in several more Ukrainian regions.
Since October, Russia has been striking Ukraine’s vital infrastructure with missiles and drones, causing massive power, central heating and water blackouts in the middle of winter, Reuters noted.
Meanwhile, the Russian-appointed authorities in Berdyansk reported that the air defense system of the occupied Ukrainian city in the southern Zaporozhye region intercepted two missiles fired by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), TASS reported.
Several rockets fired from VSU positions were also shot down by the Air Defense over Melitopol – the main city in the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region.
To the northeast, in the Luhansk region, local separatists reported Ukrainian shelling of the village of Tarasovka with American HIMARS rocket systems. They check for damage and casualties.
Ukrainian military intelligence: Russia is preparing for a long war
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military intelligence said that Russia is preparing for a long war. According to his estimates, Moscow has directed all its resources in this direction.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that measures to reorganize Russia’s economy and military-industrial complex testify to this. According to GUR, Russian President Vladimir Putin is even preparing to declare martial law.
“These measures are aimed at strengthening the potential of the armed forces of the (Russian Federation) and creating conditions for conducting operations that were planned at the very beginning of the war, but were not successfully carried out by the Russian occupation troops,” Ukrainian military intelligence believes. . Therefore, according to him, Russia is trying to mobilize all its resources to continue the war.
According to GUR estimates, the appointment this week of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov as the new commander of the “special military operation” in Ukraine also hints that “the Kremlin is preparing for a long-term, large-scale invasion.”
Zelensky: The battles for Soledar continue
Despite Russia’s claims that Russian troops have captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Soledar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the battle for the city continues, DPA reported.
“The tough fight for Donetsk continues,” Zelensky said in his daily video address on Friday evening. “The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kremnina, for other towns and villages in the eastern part of our country continues,” he said.
He expressed his personal gratitude to the Ukrainian military units that are protecting Soledar and Bakhmut from Russian attacks. “Big thanks to the fighters from the Kraken unit for the decisive actions to destroy the enemy in the Soledar area,” Zelensky said.
As for Bakhmut, he also mentioned the contribution of the International Legion, a military unit made up of foreign fighters, BTA reported.
Both the Russian army and the notorious Russian mercenary unit Wagner, which operates in the Soledar region, announced that they had captured the town.
Initially, “Wagner” announced that it had captured Soledar, after which the Russian Ministry of Defense initially denied this announcement, but later backtracked and attributed the victory to mercenary forces.
“They are already arguing with each other about who deserves the credit for a tactical advance,” commented Zelensky and defined this as “a clear signal of failure.”
