Kyiv, UKRAINE (AP) Nov,17 – Russian airstrikes again targeted a Ukrainian power plant on Thursday. The first snow of the season has fallen in Kyiv, a harbinger of the troubles to come if Moscow missiles continue to destroy power and gas power plants over the winter.
Separately, the United Nations announced the extension of an agreement to secure grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine interrupted by the war. The pact is set to expire soon, renewing fears of a global food crisis should exports from one of the world’s largest grain producers be blocked.
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine on Thursday as all sides agreed to extend the deal. At least four people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the drone and missile strikes, officials said. The Kremlin army has suffered a series of setbacks on the ground, most recently losing the southern city of Kherson. Faced with these defeats, Russia increasingly turned to airstrikes aimed at unheld energy infrastructure and other civilian targets in parts of Ukraine.
Thursday’s salvo appeared smaller than the nationwide barrage of more than 100 missiles and drones that he blacked out 10 million people earlier this week. Ukraine’s energy minister said Tuesday’s strike was the biggest barrage of attacks on a weakened power grid nearly nine months ago.
A missile landed in Poland, killing two people. Officials are trying to determine where the missile came from, with early evidence pointing to a Ukrainian air defence system designed to counter Russian artillery fire.
As winter approaches, fresh bombings are being carried out while many Ukrainians deal with regular blackouts and heating failures. Light snow blanketed the capital on Thursday and temperatures dropped to below freezing. The city’s military authorities said air defence systems shot down at least two cruise missiles and five Iranian-made explosive drones.
The Russian strike also hit downtown Dnipro and the Odesa region in southern Ukraine for the first time in weeks. Critical infrastructure was also hit in the Izyum region, northeast of Kharkiv, and three workers were injured, the regional administration said.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, described attacks on energy targets as “a naive tactic of a cowardly loser” in a Telegram contribution on Thursday.
“Ukraine has already endured enemy attacks with great difficulty, but without the results that the Russian cowards wanted,” writes Yermak.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video on Telegram saying it was one of the explosions in Dnipro. Footage from the car’s dash cam showed a violent explosion engulfing the rainy street.
“This is another confirmation from Dnipro how terrorists want peace,” wrote Zelensky, referring to the Kremlin’s army. “A peaceful city and the people’s desire to lead a normal life. Go to work, to her job. Missile attack! ”
Valentin Reznichenko, governor of Dnipropetrovsk province, said a large fire broke out in Dnipro. At least 14 people were injured in the attack, Reznichenko said.
Governor Maksim Marchenko said in Telegram that an infrastructure target had been hit in the Odessa region and warned of the danger of a “massive rocket launch across Ukraine.”
