The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that its forces attacked “strategic targets” in Ukraine overnight with Oreshnik hypersonic missiles. The ministry did not provide further details on the locations or scale of the attacks, but said the attack was in retaliation for a drone strike in December that allegedly targeted the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, AFP reported.Ukraine had denied any involvement in this attack.Ukraine’s foreign minister said the Oreshnik missile attack landed near the EU and NATO borders. He warned that the attack posed a “serious threat” to European security. He also called it a “test” for Kiev’s allies.In addition, Kiev claimed that Russia fired 36 missiles and 242 drones into Ukraine overnight. The attack came after Moscow rejected the latest post-war peacekeeping plan. It was part of a massive attack that torched apartment blocks and killed at least four people in the capital Kiev.Meanwhile, a Ukrainian attack has knocked out heat and electricity supplies for more than half a million people in the Russian border region of Belgorod, the regional governor said on Friday.“According to the results of the enemy’s overnight attack on the utility infrastructure of the Belgorod region, as of 6 a.m. today, 556,000 people in six municipalities were without electricity,” said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, adding that almost the same number were also without heating as temperatures remained near freezing, AFP reported.The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, with both countries pointing fingers at each other over various attacks. Ukrainian authorities said on Friday that Russia launched a large-scale attack using drones and missiles overnight, killing four people and wounding at least 22 in Kiev. The attack also targeted critical infrastructure in the western city of Lviv. Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the attack was an unidentified ballistic missile.According to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the military administration of the city of Kiev, a paramedic was among those killed in Kiev. Ukraine’s security service said five rescue workers were injured while working at sites targeted during the ongoing attacks. Several districts of the capital were affected. In Desnyanskyi district, a drone crashed onto the roof of a multi-story building, while elsewhere in the same area, the first two floors of a residential building were damaged. In the Dnipro district, debris from a drone hit a multi-story building and started a fire.Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes had disrupted water and electricity supplies in parts of the city. The attack came just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of Russia’s plans for a major offensive. He said Moscow was trying to take advantage of the icy conditions in the capital, with icy roads and roads making movement and emergency response difficult.
