Russian missile strikes were reported from Ukraine’s Odesa and Kharkiv early Thursday, with the region’s energy infrastructure hit. The attacks also damaged residential buildings, Maxim Marchenko, head of the Odesa regional military administration, said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an interview that he won’t meet Russian President Vladimir Putin till his forces leave Ukraine as he doesn’t trust him.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties. Power supply is currently being restricted. Our air defence units have shot down missiles,” Marchenko said in a Telegram post, adding that a second wave could hit and residents should stay sheltering.
About the prospect of meeting Putin, Zelensky told the channel that “we don’t have any confidence in him.”
“We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word,” Zelensky said.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported explosions in the Ukrainian capital.
“Explosions in the Holosiivskyi district of the capital. All services are heading to the spot,” Klitschko said on social media, referring to a southern area of the city.
Following Thursday’s fresh strike, several regions were out of power.
In Kharkiv, at least 15 missile strikes were reported, with infrastructure in the city and region being hit, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said. Missile strikes were also reported from the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov, in a Telegram post, said, there had been a series of explosions.
“I don’t have details yet, but I ask that everyone be careful. Our energy infrastructure is in the crosshairs. We are having problems with electricity in some parts of Kharkiv. But we will survive and everything will be repaired.”
Battle for Bakhmut continues
Meanwhile, the battle for Bakhmut continued, with Ukraine saying late on Wednesday that intense Russian attacks on the city have been pushed back by Ukrainian forces, even though Russia claims to be in control of the eastern half of the city. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said they had captured the eastern part of Bakhmut.
“Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under the control of Wagner,” Prigozhin said on the Telegram messaging app.
“The enemy continued its attacks and has shown no sign of a letup in storming the city of Bakhmut,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Facebook. “Our defenders repelled attacks on Bakhmut and on surrounding communities.”
Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Bakhmut may fall into Russian hands in the coming days.
“What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity,” Stoltenberg said after a meeting of EU defence ministers in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, Wednesday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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