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Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant outside Kyiv, as part of a major attack across five regions in Ukraine.
Up to 200,000 people have been left without power, Ukrainian officials said, after more than 40 Russian missile strikes and an equal number of drone attacks hit the regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Kyiv.
The strikes also attacked two underground storage facilities where Ukraine stores natural gas, including some owned by foreign companies, energy company Naftogaz said.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Some missiles and ‘Shahed’ drones were successfully shot down. Unfortunately, only a part of them. Russian terrorists have once again targeted critical infrastructure,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He added: “We need air defence systems and other defence assistance, not just turning a blind eye and having lengthy discussions.”
It comes as a Russian strike on a grocery store and a pharmacy in the north-eastern Kharkiv region killed three people, including a 14-year-old girl, on Wednesday.
In Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Russian missiles killed four people, including a girl aged 10, and injured seven more, officials said.
Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops 7 to 10 times in the east, general says
Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times in eastern regions, Ukraine‘s General Yuriy Sodol told parliament on Thursday.
“The enemy outnumbers us by 7-10 times, we lack manpower,” said Sodol, who is commanding the troops in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
His comments come as Ukraine‘s parliament passed a controversial law today that will govern how the country recruits new soldiers to replenish depleted forces who are increasingly struggling to fend off Russian troops.
In pictures: Flames consume power station outside of Kyiv
Russian missile kills four in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine‘s southern city of Mykolaiv on Thursday killed at least four people and injured five more, officials said.
“The enemy continues ballistic strikes on the south of Ukraine. Insidiously struck Mykolaiv in the middle of the day,” southern military command said on Telegram.
Private houses, cars and industrial facilities were damaged, it added.
Mykolaiv region also was targeted during Russia‘s massive overnight attack all over the country that destroyed a power plant and disrupted electricity supply for thousands of people.
‘A battle for democracy’: Ukraine bishop urges UK and US to keep supporting fight against Russia
The bishop for Ukraine in London has urged the UK and the US to “honour their pledges” and not forget that Ukraine is fighting Russia to save the “rule of law and democracy”.
Two years ago, Russia launched a devastating full-scale invasion of Ukraine, capturing nearly a quarter of the country and displacing more than 10 million people. There are now at least six million Ukrainian refugees in Europe, including around 250,000 in the UK.
Bel Trew reports:
Kremlin says any talks on Ukraine without Russia are meaningless
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that any negotiations on Ukraine without Russia were meaningless.
“We have repeatedly said that negotiations without Russia were meaningless… President Putin has repeatedly emphasized that we remain open to the negotiation process,” Peskov said.
The Swiss government will host a two-day high-level conference in June aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, it said on Wednesday, although Russia has made clear it will not take part in the initiative.
Ukraine’s parliament passes a controversial law to boost much-needed conscripts and fill army ranks
Ukraine‘s parliament passed a law Thursday that will govern how the country recruits new conscripts, following months of delay and after thousands of amendments were submitted to water down the initial draft.
Lawmakers dragged their feet for months over the law, which is expected to be unpopular. The law was spurred by a request from Ukraine‘s military, which wanted to mobilise up to 500,000 more troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in December.
Exhausted soldiers, on the front lines since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, had no means to rotate out for rest, while many thousands of Ukrainian men evade the draft.
The law brings into effect a host of changes to the current system by expanding the powers of Ukrainian authorities to issue draft notices using an electronic system.
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Zelensky have since revised that figure after conducting an audit, saying the number needed was not as high because soldiers can be rotated from the rear.
Former army commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal from his post was reportedly over the mobilisation issue.
Zelensky arrives in Lithuania for summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on Thursday to attend a conference and meet with the leaders of several other European countries, he said in a post on social media platform X.
Leaders from a dozen states in central Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, are due to attend the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius on Thursday, with the war in Ukraine prominent on the agenda.
Zelensky will first meet with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the two countries plan to sign a bilateral security agreement.
“The main task for now is to make every effort to strengthen our air-defence system, to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and to consolidate international support so that we can overcome Russian terror,” he said.
Major missile attack by Putin’s forces completely destroys power plant outside Kyiv
Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant outside Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted a senior company official as saying.
Russia staged a major missile and drone strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure early on Thursday, damaging substations and power facilities in five regions and causing emergency power cuts for at least 200,000 people, Kyiv officials said.
Barrage of Russian missiles on Ukrainian cities leaves 200,000 people without power
Ukrainian regions in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Kyiv came under attack as local officials confirmed the strikes on energy infrastructure, substations, and power facilities.
Emergency power cuts for at least 200,000 people have been reported in Kyiv, officials said.
Russian strikes destroyed power plant outside Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine says
Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant outside Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted a senior company official as saying.
Russia staged a major missile and drone strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure early on Thursday, damaging substations and power facilities in five regions and causing emergency power cuts for at least 200,000 people, Kyiv officials said.
Source: independent.co.uk
