Zelensky reports renewed Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday again accused Moscow of attacking Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure after more than 650 drones and 51 missiles caused injuries and destruction overnight.

“The main targets of these strikes, once again, were energy facilities,” Zelensky wrote on social media.

“Russia’s aim is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians, and they stoop so low as to launch missiles at peaceful cities on St. Nicholas Day,” he said, referring to the December 6 start of the Christmas period. The date also marks Ukraine’s Armed Forces Day.

Zelensky reiterated his call for more pressure on Russia to halt the war it started in February 2022 with a full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

The main building of the railway station in the town of Fastiv near Kiev had been burned down, the president continued. “The attack was meaningless from a military point of view,” Zelensky said.

The Dnipro, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odessa, Lviv, Volyn and Mykolaiv regions were also affected by the strikes, Zelensky said.

Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine. Air defence systems were also put on standby, the country’s Armed Forces High Command posted on X.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram that there were at least eight casualties in Ukraine, three each in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions and two more in Lviv in western Ukraine.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the latest attacks targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial sector and energy facilities in response to alleged Ukrainian strikes against civilian targets in Russia.

Ukraine has significantly expanded its attacks on the Russian hinterland this year. Oil and gas facilities have been targeted in particular.