By Dan Peleschuk and Herbert Villarraga
An air defence system intercepts a rocket launched by Russian forces, in Kyiv. Photo: Mustafa Ciftci / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP
Ukraine reported a new wave of Russian missile strikes on Thursday morning as air-raid sirens blared across the country and officials said blasts were heard in several cities, including the capital Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia was following an overnight assault by "kamikaze" drones by attacking the country "from different directions" with air- and sea-based cruise missiles.
It added that air defence systems could be active throughout the country.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said more than 120 missiles had been fired at Ukraine.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Odesa, according to a Reuters correspondent and local media reports.
The mayors of Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv all reported explosions in their cities and Ukrainian Railways said numerous train lines were delayed as a result of power outages.
Kharkiv's Ihor Terekhov said officials were clarifying what had been hit and whether there were any casualties, while Kyiv's Vitali Klitschko warned of possible power cuts there and asked residents to charge their devices and stock up on reserves of water.
Power cuts were announced in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, aimed at minimising potential damage to the energy infrastructure.
The blitz came hard on the heels of the Kremlin's rejection of a Ukrainian peace plan, insisting that Kyiv accept Russia's annexation of four regions.
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, but Ukraine says its daily bombardment is destroying cities, towns, and the country's infrastructure from power to medical.
On Wednesday, Russian shelling hit the maternity wing of a hospital in the city of Kherson, though no one was hurt, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, President Volodymyr Zelensky's deputy chief of staff. Staff and patients were moved to a shelter, Tymoshenko said in a post on Telegram.
"It was frightening ... the explosions began abruptly, the window handle started to tear off ... oh, my hands are still shaking," Olha Prysidko, a new mother, said.
"When we came to the basement, the shelling wasn't over. Not for a minute."
Kyiv (pictured), Kharkiv and Lviv are among the cities that have been hit, according to local authorities. Photo: Mustafa Ciftci / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP
Ukraine's recently liberated southern city of Kherson has remained under constant bombardment from Russian forces which had retreated to the east bank of the river when the city was retaken in a major victory for Ukraine last month.
Zelensky, in a video address, urged Ukrainians to hug loved ones, tell friends they appreciate them, support colleagues, thank their parents and rejoice with their children more often.
"We have not lost our humanity, although we have endured terrible months," he said. "And we will not lose it, although there is a difficult year ahead."
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February. Kyiv and its Western allies have denounced Russia's actions as an imperialist-style land grab. Russian President Vladimir Putin calls it a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour.
Sweeping sanctions have been imposed on Russia for the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, left cities in ruins and shaken the global economy, driving up energy and food prices.
Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines collapsed to a post-Soviet low in 2022 as its largest customer cut imports due to the Ukraine conflict and a major pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show.
'Today's realities'
There is still no prospect of talks to end the war.
Zelensky is vigorously pushing a 10-point peace plan that envisages Russia respecting Ukraine's territorial integrity and pulling out all its troops.
But Moscow dismissed it on Wednesday, reiterating Kyiv must accept Russia's annexation of the four regions - Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
There can be no peace plan "that does not take into account today's realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Zelensky's idea of driving Russia out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea with Western help and getting Moscow to pay damages to Kyiv was an "illusion", the RIA news agency reported.
Zelensky told Parliament to remain united and praised Ukrainians for helping the West "find itself again".
"Our national colours are today an international symbol of courage and indomitability of the whole world," he said in an annual speech held behind closed doors.
Kherson attacks
On the battlefront, Russia shelled more than 25 settlements around Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Wednesday. The Kherson region, at the mouth of the Dnipro, serves as a gateway to Russian-annexed Crimea.
Heavy fighting persisted around the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, in the eastern province of Donetsk, and to its north, around the cities of Svatove and Kreminna in Luhansk, where Ukrainian forces are trying to break Russian defensive lines.
Britain's defence ministry said Russia had likely reinforced the Kreminna section of the front-line as it was logistically important and relatively vulnerable following Ukrainian advances further west.
Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov noted that Kharkiv city and region had also come under heavy attacks which damaged a regional gas pipeline.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a Telegram post that the city had come under attack twice, "presumably" from Iranian Shahed drones, five of which Ukraine's eastern air command separately reported downing over the city of Dnipro.
Reuters was unable to verify battlefield reports.
- Reuters