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KYIV, Ukraine – A Russian artillery attack on Ukraine’s capital city early Monday destroyed dozens of buildings and left more than 100 families without electricity.
The early morning attack in Kyiv came amid warnings that Russia would increase its attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches and temperatures cool.
A series of large explosions followed by airstrikes broke the peace in Kyiv just after 4 am as the city was under its night curfew.
Ukraine’s military said its air defenses intercepted all eight ballistic missiles. However, falling debris from the rockets destroyed buildings on the ground, leaving one person injured and three others suffering severe shock, officials said. .
AP reporters witnessed some of the devastation in the Bortnychi district southeast of Kyiv. A building under construction collapsed and nearby buildings were partially damaged, with gaping holes in roofs and walls.
Victor Demchenko, the owner of the damaged house, was cleaning debris from his property, near a pit about 5 meters (16 feet) deep in the backyard. Demchenko said he was in another part of the city when he heard the explosion.
“Then the neighbor called … and said that the only thing left of the house was a hole,” he said. “I didn’t believe him, so I took the car and took it here. Well, you can see for yourself, there’s nothing to be found here.”
In another house about 2 kilometers (a mile) away, Nadia Matvienko was lucky to escape unharmed after her house was damaged in the attack.
“It was like I felt something. I couldn’t sleep all night, tossing and turning in my bed. Then ‘bang, bang,’ we rushed down the road. The next thing we heard was that the house was broken,” he said, wiping away tears as he sat in his house with broken glass and broken furniture scattered on the floor.
The attack also left 120 families in the city without electricity, said the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia will target energy infrastructure that causes blackouts and blackouts like last winter.
In a statement at the end of the week, the UK Defense Ministry said that last week Russia used its heavy bombers for the first time since September. It predicted the beginning of a special campaign aimed at destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure when winter comes.
More than two weeks ago, Kyiv came under what Ukrainian officials said was the most powerful drone attack since the start of Russia’s all-out offensive in 2022. The Ukrainian air force said that Russia launched 75 Iran-made Shahed drones against the capital, of which 74 were destroyed by air defenses.
Elsewhere in Ukraine on Monday, the air force said it intercepted 18 Russian drones, mostly over the southern part of Mykolaiv.
The attacks came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Argentina for the swearing in of the country’s new president, Javier Milei. This is the Ukrainian leader’s first official trip to Latin America as Kyiv continues to court support in developing countries for its 21-month fight against Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy met with Miley as well as the presidents of Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador. During the inauguration ceremony, Zelenskyy was seen exchanging words with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who is widely considered to be one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies in Europe and one of the few European leaders did not side with Ukraine in the war.
In his video speech overnight, Zelenskyy said he had a “direct conversation” with Orban, “focusing on our issues in Europe.”
EU leaders are meeting this weekend in Brussels. Orban has demanded the end of EU talks with Ukraine and billions of Euros in financing Kyiv to be removed from the agenda.
Zelenskyy is due to travel to Washington for meetings on Tuesday with President Joe Biden and other US officials where he will “focus on ensuring unity in the United States, Europe and the world in supporting the defense of Ukraine against Russian terrorism and the strengthening of the international order based on law. and respect for the sovereignty of each nation,” his office said in a statement.
Biden asked Congress for a $110 billion ($61.4 billion) war package for Ukraine and Israel, among other national security priorities. But the proposal is caught up in a debate over US policy and border security.
___ Associated Press reporters Karl Ritter and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.