Ukraine’s air force says Russia has so far launched 60 missiles against Ukraine and used strategic bombers for the first time.
Civilians take shelter inside a metro station during an airstrike alert in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 16. (Photo: Dimitar Tilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Inhat said at 10:50 a.m. (3:50AM ET) that “60 missiles” were fired at Ukraine.
Inhat also gave a detailed description of the weapons used in the attacks.
He said the missiles were launched from a Tu-95 aircraft and included Kh-555 and Kh-101 missiles.
The spokesman added that “Kalibr” missiles were launched from the Black Sea, while S300 and Tu22M3 bombers launched X-22 missiles.
Mig31K jets were seen in the sky, Inhat said.
“For the first time, the aggressors used Tu95 strategic bombers from the area where those planes were located, from the Engels area. In addition, there were launches from the north of the Caspian Sea,” he noted.
Moscow says an air base in Engels, Russia, was hit by drones launched by Ukraine on December 5.
Missile attacks took place across Ukraine this Friday, including in Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia.
In Kiev, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said the explosions took place in the capital’s Desnianskyi district.
CNN crews in Kyiv saw and heard explosions and missiles that could be heard earlier. They also heard that air defense systems were operating in the Ukrainian capital.
Oleh Syniehubv, head of the regional military administration, said “important infrastructure facilities” had been affected in Chuhuiv district, in northeastern Kharkiv.
In the central city of Kryvyi Rih, Olkesandr Vilkul, head of the city’s military administration, said “there are rocket attacks”.
In Zaporizhia, “a dozen and a half” attacks by Russian missiles were reported, regional military chief Oleksandr Starch said in a telegram on Friday.
“The effects of the enemy attack are being clarified. All relevant services are operational. We ask citizens to prepare for possible temporary restrictions while the damaged infrastructure is restored,” Starch said.
Since October, Russia has launched a series of attacks against Ukraine that have damaged the energy system and civilian infrastructure, causing blackouts during the freezing winter.
