A wave of Russian missiles and drones hit Kiev and other cities across Ukraine on Thursday, in what appears to be one of the largest attacks on Ukraine this year.
Authorities in Kiev, Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk regions said on their Telegram channels that at least six people were killed and seven wounded. Sites in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Zhitomir and Kirovohrad were also bombed. President Volodymyr Zelensky described a “difficult night” as the barrage hit “vital” infrastructure facilities.
Ukrainian military officials said that Russia launched 81 missiles and eight Shahed drones that exploded. They added that 34 cruise missiles and four drones were intercepted. About 150,000 households were left without electricity in the Zhitomir region of northwest Ukraine. In the southern port of Odessa, authorities said power lines were damaged and emergency power outages were in place.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba chirp: “No military goal, only Russian barbarism. The day will come when Putin and his cronies will be held accountable.”
At the end of January, 11 people were killed when the Russian military launched missile attacks across Ukraine the day after the United States and Germany announced that they would supply modern tanks to the Ukrainian army. Thursday’s attack comes as Russia’s invasion last year crossed the one-year threshold and Russian forces sought to capture Pakhmut and other towns and villages in eastern Ukraine.
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Developments:
► 52% of Ukrainians do not want any Russian language taught in schools, up from 8% in the 2019 survey, according to a new survey by the institute Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. Despite the war, 42% of the population still would prefer to teach some Russian language – although only 6% want to teach it more than other foreign languages.
A group of 42 retired Canadian Olympians is urging their country’s Olympic leaders to take a stand against the Russians participating in next year’s Paris Games.
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The largest nuclear power plant in Europe was forced to use backup generators
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant lost all of its “off-site” power Thursday in the wake of recent Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, according to the head of an international team monitoring the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Rafael Grossi, director general of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, said all 20 emergency diesel generators at the site had been activated as a result of the attacks. This is the first time that the site, located in southeastern Ukraine, has lost all power since November last year.
“This is the sixth time – let me say it again for the sixth time – that ZNPP has lost all of its off-site power and had to operate in this emergency mode. Let me remind you – this is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Grossi said in a statement. “What do we do? How can we sit here in this room this morning and let this happen? This cannot go on.”
He said it takes eight emergency diesel generators to power the station and there is enough diesel on site for 15 days of operation. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both sides have accused each other of bombing the Zaporizhia plant, raising persistent nuclear safety concerns.
US judge agrees to forfeit $25 million Boeing 737
A New York federal court has authorized the forfeiture of a $25 million Boeing 737 owned by a Russian energy company, citing US sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The aircraft is owned by PJSC Rosneft Oil Co. , based in Moscow and led by the sanctioned oligarch Igor Ivanovich Sechin.
“Today’s enforcement action shows that there is a price to be paid for Russian companies and oligarchs who blatantly evade sanctions imposed by the United States in response to the unprovoked war against the people of Ukraine,” said Brion Pace, U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn. In a press release.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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