"Russia fired dozens of missiles, including hypersonic weapons, at regions across Ukraine on Thursday, striking civilian infrastructure and the country's defense industry in one of the biggest barrages this year as Moscow's forces continued to take more territory in the east.
Russia launched 81 missiles of different varieties from air, land and sea, in addition to eight Iranian-made attack drones, according to Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces. Four of the drones and 34 cruise missiles were intercepted, Gen. Zaluzhny said.
Russian and Ukrainian officials said six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were among the missiles used in the strikes.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the barrage was in retaliation for an attack last week in Russia's Bryansk region in which two civilians were killed, and which Moscow blamed on Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukrainian intelligence said it played no part in the incident.
The tempo of Russian attacks has diminished in recent weeks after last year's weekly missile barrages against Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials say that reflects depleted Russian stockpiles of missiles.
Moscow's use of Kinzhal missiles poses a formidable challenge to Ukrainian air defenses, though the weapons system is costly and in shorter supply compared with more conventional missiles in Russia's arsenal.
The Kinzhal can accelerate to 10 times the speed of sound and strike targets at a range of over 1,200 miles and can be outfitted with both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing around 1,100 pounds, according to Russian state media.
Russia has said it previously used a Kinzhal missile in a strike early in the war, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to ramp up production and deployment of Kinzhals and other advanced missile systems.
Repair crews were working to restore power after the strikes, which damaged energy generation and distribution facilities in eight regions, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, warning of temporary blackouts.
Before the latest barrage, the power grid in Ukraine had been almost fully operational. Rolling blackouts had largely ended, and most of the country had a steady supply of electricity, heating and water.
Rescue workers were at the scene of explosions in two districts of the capital, Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. About 40% of the city's residents were without heating after Ukraine imposed emergency power outages to protect the grid. An infrastructure facility in the Holosiivskyi district was hit, the Kyiv city military administration said.
The barrage was one of the longest lately but the city's air defenses, including the German-provided Iris-T system, intercepted all but one of the missiles, Mr. Klitschko told the German daily Bild.
There were "air raid alerts from midnight to 7 a.m.," he said. He said Russia used both missiles and drones to try to overwhelm Ukraine's defenses.
Western countries have bolstered Ukraine's air defenses since Russia began targeting the country's infrastructure. The U.S. has provided midrange Nasams and Germany has sent the medium-range Iris-T, as well as Gepard mobile antiaircraft guns, enabling Ukraine to intercept about 80% of Russian missiles and drones, according to the government.
"The United States continues to provide air-defense capabilities to Ukraine and to make sure -- in concert with our allies and partners across the globe -- that we're providing what they need to meet this moment," White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said Thursday.
Ukraine's air force says it lacks the capability to shoot down certain missiles, including Kh-22, Kh-47 and S-300. Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration, said preliminary information suggested a Kh-47 missile had penetrated the capital's air defenses.
Three thermal-power plants were also damaged in the strikes, according to Ukraine's largest private energy generator DTEK. The company's plants have been struck 29 times since the fall, it said." [1]
1. World News: Missile Strikes Lash Ukraine
Coles, Isabel; Kantchev, Georgi. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 10 Mar 2023: A.7.
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