KYIV: At least 12 people have been killed in the latest series of Russian strikes across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv and the central and southern regions, according to local media and officials.
Mayor of the central city of Dnipro Borys Filatov said on the social media platform Telegram that a young woman and a three-year-old child were killed.
At least 10 people were killed and eight wounded in the central town of Uman after a missile hit a residential building, setting it ablaze, said Ihor Taburets, head of the military administration in the area, Reuters said.
According to Interfax Ukraine, Kyiv also witnessed sporadic explosions and air raid sirens.
There were no details about the strike in Kyiv or of any damage and casualties. The city’s military administration said anti-aircraft units were in operation.
Interfax said blasts were also reported after midnight in Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and Mykolaiv in the south.
The attacks come as Ukrainian forces were expected to launch a counter-offensive with new military equipment, including tanks, from its Western allies after Russian forces made little progress in their winter offensive.
Defected Police Officer Killed
Meanwhile, a defected police chief in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol was killed in an apparent guerrilla bomb attack.
The BBC said that Oleksandr Mishchenko, who defected to Russia after they seized the city, died after an improvised device exploded at the apartment’s entrance.
There had recently been reports of heightened Ukrainian partisan activity in the region.
Melitopol’s exiled mayor said that the dead police officer was a traitor.
The city is in Zaporizhzhia province, one of four regions Russia claimed to have annexed last year following its invasion despite only partially controlling them.
