Missile wave

Russian missile wave following tank announcement kills at least 1 person in Kyiv

Two others were wounded in the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko wrote on Telegram.

BY NICOLAS CAMUT

Multiple Ukrainian regions were hit by missile strikes early on Thursday, killing at least one person, according to local authorities, a day after its Western allies pledged to supply Kyiv with dozens of tanks to defend itself against the Russian invasion.

“We expect more than 30 missiles, which have already started to appear in various territories,” Ukrainian military spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said on national television.

“More than 15 cruise missiles” were launched toward Kyiv, the head of the capital’s military administration Serhiy Popko wrote on Telegram. “All air targets were shot down.”

“However, the danger of air strikes has not gone away,” Popko added, urging residents to “stay in shelters.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said one person was killed and two wounded in the capital after a “non-residential building” was hit.

Other strikes targeted energy infrastructure facilities around Odesa (south), Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko wrote on Telegram, with “significant problems with electricity supply.”

Vinnytsia, in central Ukraine, was also hit, governor Serhiy Borzoi said, without any casualties.

On Wednesday, a group of Ukraine’s Western allies, led by Germany and the United States, vowed to deliver more than 100 tanks to the war-torn country, in a move that could change the face of the conflict — though the weapons are not expected to be delivered before several months.

Ukraine has repeatedly been asking for hundreds of tanks in recent weeks, saying it needs them to launch a major counteroffensive in the spring to regain territory lost to Russia since Moscow invaded the country last February.