Russia’s missile campaign targeting Ukrainian civilian centers and energy infrastructure continued today, with projectiles raining down on several cities across the country. Reuters reports:
Russia fired scores of missiles into Ukraine early on Thursday, targeting Kyiv and other cities including Lviv in the west and Odesa in the southwest, sending people rushing to shelters and knocking out power in one of Moscow’s largest aerial assaults. . . .
Ukraine’s military said it had shot down 54 missiles out of 69 launched by Russia. Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine —for five hours in the capital Kyiv. Officials had earlier said more than 120 missiles were fired during the assault.
Reuters footage showed emergency workers pouring through the smouldering wreckage of residential homes in Kyiv destroyed by a blast and smoke trails of missiles in the sky.
Today’s attacks followed a bombardment on Christmas Eve that killed several civilians in Kherson.
Earlier this month, Congress passed a new, $45 billion Ukraine-focused appropriations package as part of the omnibus budget bill, and the Biden administration announced that it would transfer Patriot missile-defense systems to Ukraine.