Powerful blasts reported in Ukrainian cities

Moscow had promised retaliation for Kiev’s “terrorist attacks” on Belgorod and Donetsk that left many civilians dead

Powerful explosions have rocked several Ukrainian cities, local officials have said. The apparent strikes came after Russia accused Kiev of carrying out deadly “terrorist attacks” on two of its cities, vowing retaliation. Moscow has yet to comment on the matter.

Blasts were reported in several districts of Kiev by Mayor Vitali Klitschko in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He said that some facilities and residential buildings had been cut off from power, adding that “in some areas, there is a temporary lack of pressure in the water supply network.”

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said the strikes had left about 260,000 of the city’s residents without access to electricity.

According to the mayor, there were several fires in Podolsky district in the western part of the Ukrainian capital; one warehouse building was affected. He added that another warehouse was on fire in the northwest of the capital.

Later, Klitschko claimed that 20 people had been injured as a result of a rocket strike in western Solomensky district, and that 19 of them had been hospitalized.

READ MORE: Russia to ramp up attacks on Ukraine – Putin

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia scrambled nine MiG-31 fighters, which launched a barrage of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. It also warned of “significant activity of enemy tactical aviation” in the waters of the Sea of Azov.

Several videos posted on social media show large fires in the Ukrainian capital, with one clip purporting to show a missile flying over the city.

Ukrainian officials also said that Moscow launched a “massive rocket attack” on Kharkov, which is located near the country’s border with Russia and less than 80 km away from Belgorod. Oleg Sinegubov, the head of the regional administration, claimed that there had been at least six rocket strikes, adding that there have been dozens of casualties.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that four people died in the strikes and that another 92 were wounded, adding that the country’s emergency services are working to eliminate the fallout from the attack.

Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s envoy to the UN, said on Saturday that Kiev often deploys its air defense systems in residential districts in violation of international law, resulting in casualties among civilians.

The apparent attack comes after the Russian Defense Ministry said it had carried out high-precision missile strikes on Sunday, on airports where Ukrainian jets carrying UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles were based. It claimed that all targets had been hit.

On Saturday, Ukrainian forces launched a powerful missile barrage at the Russian border city of Belgorod, killing 25 people, including five children, and injuring 109. Overnight on December 31-January 1, they also shelled Donetsk, with the strike claiming the lives of four people and wounding another 13.

READ MORE: Another child dies after Ukrainian attack on Russian city

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev’s terrorist attacks wouldn’t go unanswered, vowing to ramp up strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure. He stressed, however, that Moscow had no plans to retaliate in kind by targeting civilians.