\n An overnight Russian aerial attack left thousands of residential buildings in Kyiv without heating and water in -14C temperatures on Tuesday -- another blow to a capital already reeling from strikes that have knocked out vital utilities.\n<\/p>\n
\n The large-scale bombardment, which targeted energy facilities across the country, killed at least one person -- a 50-year-old man -- near Kyiv.\n<\/p>\n
\n AFP journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens and explosions as Ukrainian air defence systems responded to the drones and missiles.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"War criminal Putin continues to wage a genocidal war against women, children and elderly,\" Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said Russian forces had targeted energy infrastructure in at least seven regions, and urged Ukraine's allies to bolster its air defence systems.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Putin's barbaric strike this morning is a wake up call to world leaders gathering in Davos,\" he said of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Support for the Ukrainian people is urgent. There will be no peace in Europe without a lasting peace for Ukraine.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had launched \"a significant number of ballistic and cruise missiles\" and \"more than 300 attack drones\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said: \"Almost half of Kyiv is in blackout right now.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n - Nationwide bombardment -\n<\/p>\n
\n Zelensky, who had recently complained of slow arms deliveries, said Ukraine had received a shipment of ammunition for air defences systems just one day before the attack.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We finally received the necessary missiles, which helped significantly,\" he said on social media.\n<\/p>\n
\n The attack came around 10 days after the most significant Russian strike on Kyiv's energy grid since its invasion almost four years ago.\n<\/p>\n
\n That strike, at dawn on January 9, left half the capital without heating and many residents without electricity for days in sub-zero temperatures.\n<\/p>\n
\n Most of the buildings cut off on Tuesday were those affected on January 9.\n<\/p>\n
\n Schools have been closed until February and street lights dimmed in a bid to preserve energy resources.\n<\/p>\n
\n Russia fired some 339 long-range combat drones and 34 missiles in the overnight barrage, Kyiv's air force said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"After this attack, 5,635 residential buildings are without heating,\" Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram -- about half the capital's apartment blocks.\n<\/p>\n
\n Much of Kyiv was also without running water, he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Critical infrastructure' -\n<\/p>\n
\n Authorities in the western region of Rivne said a separate attack there had damaged \"critical infrastructure\", leaving 10,000 households without power.\n<\/p>\n
\n The head of the southern Odesa region said a Russian drone had crashed into a residential building and energy facilities had been hit.\n<\/p>\n
\n And in the eastern Poltava region, local authorities said an attack had sparked fire at an industrial facility.\n<\/p>\n
\n Russia has been pounding Ukraine's energy system since the start of its invasion, in what Kyiv says is an attempt to sap morale and weaken Ukrainians' resistance.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Kremlin says it only targets Ukrainian military facilities and has blamed the continuation of the war on Kyiv for refusing to accept its peace demands.\n<\/p>\n
\n The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two top Russian military officials over the strikes on Ukraine's energy grid.\n<\/p>\n
\n The court said it constituted a war crime as it was designed to harm Ukrainian civilians.\n<\/p>\n
\n Due to war-time sensitivities, Kyiv does not say which energy facilities have been damaged or destroyed in Russian attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An overnight Russian aerial attack left thousands of residential buildings in Kyiv without heating and water in -14C temperatures on Tuesday -- another blow to a capital already reeling from strikes that have knocked out vital utilities. The large-scale bombardment, which targeted energy facilities across the country, killed at least one person -- a 50-year-old […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-154456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n