January 14, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

The CEO of the Ukrainian state power company Ukrenergo says the country's power system suffered twelve waves of missile strikes Saturday.

"Unfortunately, energy facilities in 5 regions were hit," Volodymyr Kudrytskyi wrote on Facebook. "Power engineers are already working on the restoration."

Kudrytskyi said power plants and substations of Ukrenergo had been hit, but the "controllability and integrity of the power system was preserved."

"Coordinated work of the military and power engineers does not allow the enemy to achieve their main goal - to plunge the whole country into cold and darkness," the power CEO said.

About two-thirds of the Russian missiles fired at Ukraine on Saturday were intercepted, according to the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Defense forces destroyed 18 cruise missiles and three guided aircraft missiles, he said.

Zaluzhnyi said that early Saturday morning, the capital of Kyiv was attacked by anti-aircraft guided missiles from the north. Such weapons — S-300s — have rarely been used against Kyiv. 

He said Russians forces later used a mix of air-launched cruise missiles, sea-launched cruise missiles and guided missiles fired from aircraft to target the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. 

Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, earlier said air defenses saved "the lives of thousands of people."

The wave of Russian missile attacks Saturday was the first in two weeks.

Damage to power infrastructure from a wave of Russian missile strikes has led to emergency power outages in most regions across Ukraine, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.

"The next days will be difficult. Power engineers are already working to restore electricity supply," the energy minister continued.

Saturday's wave of missile attacks follows a relative lull that had allowed Ukrainian power companies to reduce the power deficit caused by damage to transformers and substations.

A top Ukrainian government official said "fierce battles" for the town of Soledar continue Saturday. 

Russian forces appear to be in control of most of the town, with Ukrainian units on its northwestern fringes.

Some background: Soledar is a small town in eastern Ukraine with symbolic, if not especially strategic, value to Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces, who have gone months without a notable victory.

Russia said Friday its forces had taken the town, though Ukraine has denied the claim.

Earlier Saturday, the head of the Donetsk region military administration called the situation for Ukraine's military in Soledar "difficult but controlled."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said emergency services are working to clear debris and save lives at the site of an apartment building strike in the central city of Dnipro.

"Debris clearance in Dnipro continues. All services are working. We are fighting for every person, every life," he said in a message on his Telegram channel.

At least five people were killed and nearly 30 injured in the Russian missile strike on Saturday, according to authorities.

"Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by Russian terror! The world must stop this evil," Zelensky added, vowing that "we will find everyone involved in this terror."

The government in Moldova has condemned Russia's missile attacks against neighboring Ukraine and expressed its "indignation" that debris from a missile fell on its territory Saturday.

She also decried "the disrespect of the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova, its airspace being overrun again today and the remains of a rocket falling in the vicinity of Larga town in the Briceni district."

The Moldovan Interior Ministry posted photographs of the debris in a field.

A regional Ukrainian leader said five people were killed by a Russian missile that struck a nine-story apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

At least 27 people were injured, including six children. All of them are in the hospital, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.

Images and video from the scene show the collapsed front of the building and a fierce fire in the immediate aftermath of the strike, which occurred early Saturday afternoon local time. There was a series of detonations after the initial impact, possibly as cars or gas lines ignited.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said earlier that "at least one entrance is missing, people who were at home on a holiday are under the rubble."

Tymoshenko said 15 people had been rescued in the destroyed entrance of the building. The State Emergency Service and all city services are at the scene, he said.

Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, said air defenses are working in the latest wave of Russian missile attacks against Ukrainian cities.

Shmyhal also said the strikes are “yet another proof that Russia is a terrorist and has no place in the civilized world.”

Shmyhal also said the strikes are “yet another proof that Russia is a terrorist and has no place in the civilized world.”

Russia is targeting infrastructure in Kharkiv as part of its "large-scale missile attack" on Ukraine, the mayor of the northeastern city said Saturday.

"There is a large-scale missile attack on Ukraine now, the enemy is targeting infrastructure facilities," Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

Only ground transportation is operating in the city, he said, adding that "we have implemented a scheme of bus routes in case of power outage."

Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv's military administration, said there had been two "arrivals" of Russian missiles to a critical infrastructure facility in the region.

"Currently, emergency power cuts are being applied. Emergency services are working at the scene," he said.