KIEV, Ukraine (AP) – At least five people were killed in overnight Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine on Tuesday, a day after a Heavy barrage hit energy plants throughout the country.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said 81 drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, were used in the attacks and 16 people were injured. He said four people had died, but the governor of the Zaporizhia region later said a fifth person there had died of burns in the attacks.
“We will undoubtedly hold Russia accountable for this and all other attacks. Crimes against humanity must not go unpunished,” Zelensky wrote on X.
In the Kyiv region, which has been struggling with power outages since Monday's attack, air raid warnings were sounded five times during the night. The regional administration said air defenses had destroyed all drones and missiles, but falling debris had sparked forest fires.
Following the attack on Ukraine by more than 100 missiles and a similar number of drones on Monday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that “the energy infrastructure has once again become a target of Russian terrorists” and called on Ukraine’s allies to protect it with Long-range weapons and permission to use on Targets within Russia.
President Joe Biden on Monday called Russia's attack on energy infrastructure “outrageous” and said he had “reprioritized U.S. air defense exports to be delivered to Ukraine first.” He also said the U.S. would “deliver energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems and build the resilience of Ukraine's energy grid.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks involved the use of “air- and sea-based long-range precision weapons and drones against critical energy infrastructure facilities that support the operation of Ukraine's military-industrial complex. All intended targets were hit.”
Meanwhile, in Russia, officials reported the launch of four Ukrainian missiles over the Kursk region, where Russian forces are battling Ukrainian troops that invaded by surprise this month.
The fighting in the region has raised concerns about the nuclear power plant there. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited the plant on Tuesday but did not initially give a public assessment.
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