A massive bombing of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was launched this morning by Russia: according to the governor of Mykolaiv, Vitaliy Kim, 40 Calibur and X101 missiles have been sighted so far.
Sirens woke up citizens of several cities in the country under attack, while Kiev officials urged residents to take cover and stay alert for the whole day.
“There is a strong threat of missile attack. I want to reiterate that we must not ignore the air warning sirens”, said the head of the military administration of the capital, Serhiy Popko.
For his part, even the presidential adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, spoke of the “threat of a massive Russian missile attack” and asked the population to remain in shelters. Last night the city of Zaporizhzhia, in the southeast of the country, was hit 17 times in one hour.
“The highest number since the start of the large-scale invasion,” said an official in the area. Russian forces have also launched a missile attack on the city and region of Kharkiv.
Oleg Synyehubov, governor of that area, wrote: “At 4 am, the enemy launched rocket attacks on the city of Kharkiv and the region with S-300 missiles. Critical facilities and infrastructure have been targeted. Fires broke out, which rescuers managed to put out quickly. However, some areas of the city remain without electricity. Luckily there are no victims.”
But Ukraine is not just watching, and according to the Times it is ready to use long-range missiles supplied by the United Kingdom to strike Crimea. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged more military aid to Kiev following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s surprise visit to London this week.
The two countries are reportedly discussing whether this aid should also include Harpoon or Storm Shadow anti-ship missiles.