Russia has launched heavy airstrikes on Ukraine for the second consecutive night, killing four people and injuring several more, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday.
At least four people were reported killed in the attacks: two due to a missile strike on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih and two others in drone attacks on Zaporizhzhya.
“We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for this and all other attacks. Crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the social media platform X.
Zelensky said at least 16 others were injured in the attacks, which reportedly featured cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles.
Amid some of the heaviest bombing since the conflict began, some 52,000 people in Kiev took refuge in underground stations as sirens rang throughout the capital, Ukrainian media said.
All flying objects targeting Kiev were shot down, the capital’s military authorities said.
However, hits and damage were reported in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson and Khmelnytskyi regions.
The Ukrainian Air Force said five Russian cruise missiles and 60 of 81 deployed drones were intercepted, but three Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles and two Iskander missiles could not be shot down.
The attacks were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy system, analysts observed, although unconfirmed reports suggested the Starokostiantyniv air base in the western Khmelnytskyi region may also have been a target.
The latest bombings came a day after Moscow launched an attack involving 127 missiles along with over 100 combat drones, the highest number reported by the Ukrainian military in two and a half years of conflict.
