Russian Missiles And Bombers Of Ukraine The Day After The West Agrees To Delivery Of Combat Tanks

JAKARTA - Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, drones and bombers in a wave of Thursday's attacks, a day after the West approved the delivery of the main fighter tank (MBT) to Kyiv.

At least 11 people were killed, dozens injured, with dozens of buildings and energy facilities in various areas damaged, officials said.

Crowds took refuge at the Kyiv metro station during warnings of airstrikes were heard during rush hour, before Russia launched its latest attack on the power grid since October which caused massive blackouts during winter.

The missile attack came after last night's drone strike, one day after Ukraine received a key battle tank pledge from Germany and the United States to strengthen its troops.

It is known, Germany finally approved the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allowed the export of similar tanks owned by allies to Ukraine. The United States also approved the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv.

"Another effort by a terrorist state to intimidate us with a massive missile strike recently suffered defeat, just as all of Russia will soon be defeated," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on Telegram.

Air defenses shot down 47 of the 55 missiles that included at least one of Kinzhal's Kh-47 hypersonic missiles, said General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's main military commander.

Twenty missiles fell around Kyiv, where a 55-year-old man was killed and two people injured as a missile hit a non-residential building, officials said.

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, spokesman for the State Emergency Service, said Thursday's attack killed 11 people, injured 11 others and damaged 35 buildings in 11 regions.

In a separate statement, officials said one person was killed in the Kryvy Rih area, two in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, and three in the Zaporizhzhia region. An energy worker was also killed.

The Ukrainian military said it shot down all 24 drones launched by Russia overnight. Fifteen of them fell around Kyiv where there were no reports of any damage, they said.

A total of six Tu-95 strategic bombers launched long-range missiles after taking off from the North Pole of Murmansk in northern Russia, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia's main target was energy facilities and the attack was aimed at eliminating Ukraine's "electric and heating", with temperatures at Kyiv below freezing.

"Unfortunately, the substation was hit. But the situation in the energy system remains under control," he wrote on Telegram.

President Zelensky said he had met with the top commander on Thursday and discussed ways to fight future missile attacks more effectively, but gave no details.

Separately, Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, but says critical infrastructure is a legitimate military target.

"This is truly a tragedy for me. My heart, I have nothing?" said Halyna pathyan (67) years old, whose house was destroyed in the village of Hevakha near Kyiv.