Ukraine is reporting a fresh Russian missile strike on Thursday morning as blasts are heard in several cities. The authorities have said that the blasts come from air defence systems shooting down incoming missiles.
Presidential office adviser Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook that more than 100 missiles were incoming, in several waves, and air raid alarms could be heard across the country.
Blasts were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Odesa, according to a Reuters correspondent and local media reports. Power cuts were announced in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, aimed at minimising potential damage to the energy infrastructure.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has claimed on Twitter that over 120 missiles have been launched into Ukraine this morning by Russia. He tweeted:
120+ missiles over Ukraine launched by the “evil Russian world” to destroy critical infrastructure & kill civilians en masse.
He then added, sarcastically referring to recent noises from Russia about what would be required to move toward any peace settlement:
We’re waiting for further proposals from “peacekeepers” about “peaceful settlement”, “security guarantees for the Russian Federation” and [the] undesirability of provocations.