President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has enough missiles to carry out a more powerful strike against Ukraine after a series of attacks by Russia. Engineers continue to work to restore power after Friday’s massive 76-missile strike. The attacks targeted civilian infrastructure as temperatures plummeted to below-freezing in many areas. Russian President Vladimir Putin advised military commanders on the future of war. According to the Kremlin, Mr. Putin spent all of Friday at the Russian headquarters for military operations. “I would like to hear your proposals for immediate and medium-term measures,” the Russian president said.
The Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff were also present at the meeting. Parts of the Ukrainian capital had no electricity or heating on Saturday, said, mayor Vitali Klitschko. However, the city’s water supply is now fully restored. Authorities said power had been restored in the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, after hours of no power after Friday’s string of strikes targeting power plants across the country. Local officials said up to nine power plants were hit as the Russian military launched 76 rockets and carried out drone strikes. The mayor of Kharkiv said the city suffered “huge” damage. Resident Anasta Aisa told the news portals the strike started on Friday morning. “Within minutes, the lights started flashing,” said the mother of the two-month-old.
“Only she turned off after 10 seconds and everything stopped and that was it.” A Kharkiv intensive care nurse named Vlad told the BBC that staff at his hospital continued to work during the strike in the city because they were accustomed to such attacks. Defense ministry adviser Yury Sak told the BBC on Friday that Russia’s frequent attacks meant that damage to power infrastructure was becoming increasingly difficult to repair. Elsewhere, in the town of Kryvyi Rih, four people were killed after a residential building was attacked. The bodies of a 64-year-old woman, a 30-year-old couple, and a 1-year-old boy were found overnight. Another person died in Kherson, officials said.
Alarms were sounded across Ukraine on Friday, with Supreme Commander General Valeriy Zaluzhny saying air defense systems had intercepted 60 of the 76 missiles fired, most of them cruise missiles. Kyiv city officials said about 40 rockets were fired in the capital alone. This is he one of the biggest barrages since the February 24 invasion of Russia. Thirty-seven were shot down by anti-aircraft forces, the official added. “It’s very stressful, but now I’m used to it,” said Oksana, 42, who lives in the capital. “We don’t want our children to be in basements and shelters. I don’t want them to.”
