Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine claims to have shot down 34 cruise missiles as death toll rises following mass Russian air strikes | Ukraine
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Ukraine’s air force claims to have shot down 34 cruise missiles overnight
Ukraine’s air force has issued a statement via Telegram on the wave of attacks from Russia overnight. In it, it claims that “the defence forces of Ukraine destroyed 34 cruise missiles … as well as 4 ‘Shahed-136/131’ unmanned aerial vehicles”. It claims that a total of 48 Kalibr-type cruise missiles had been fired by Russia.
It described the attack as featuring “81 missiles of various types” in total, and that “the launches were carried out from 10 Tu-95 strategic aircraft, seven Tu-22M3 long-range aircraft, eight Su-35 fighters, six MiG-31K aircraft and three Kalibr KR carriers in the Black Sea”.
It adds: “As a result of organised countermeasures, 8 Kh-31P and Kh-59 guided air missiles did not reach their targets. It is worth noting that the armed forces of Ukraine do not have means capable of destroying Kh-22 and Kh-47 ‘Kinzhal’ and S-300.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
Key events
Zelenskiy says ‘it’s been a difficult night’ after Russia fires 81 missiles at targets in Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to his official Telegram about the night’s events, writing:
It’s been a difficult night. A massive rocket attack across the country. Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia regions. Attacks on critical infrastructure and residential buildings. Unfortunately, there are injured and dead. My condolences to the families.
All services are working. The energy system is being restored. Restrictions were imposed in all regions.
The enemy fired 81 missiles in an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians again, returning to their miserable tactics. The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done.
We thank the guardians of our skies and everyone who helps to overcome the consequences of the occupiers’ sneaking attacks.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, has posted this summary to Telegram of the latest news to emerge from the overnight strikes. It reports:
In Kyiv, the alarm lasted for about seven hours. Two people were hospitalised due to falling rocket fragments.
Five people were killed in the Zolochiv district of the Lviv region due to a rocket hitting a residential area, one person was killed and two were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Energy infrastructure and industrial enterprises were also damaged in the region.
About 15 strikes were made in Kharkiv and the region, two people were injured. Critical infrastructure was targeted. Metro and electric transport are not working.
In Kirovohrad oblast, Odesa oblast and Zhytomyr oblast, energy infrastructure facilities were hit. Also, according to preliminary information, there are hits in Vinnytsia.
At night, electricity restrictions were applied preventively in all regions to reduce risks to the system. Emergency power outages were used in regions where infrastructure was damaged. Kharkiv region and Zhytomyr region are partially de-energized. Kharkiv is completely without electricity.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Here are some more images from the scene of the strike in Kyiv.
Death toll in Lviv strike rises to five – regional governor
Maksym Kozytskyi, governor of Lviv, has announced that a fifth person has been killed in overnight strikes. He posted to Telegram to say:
The number of people killed as a result of the fall of the rocket in the Zolochiv district has increased to five. The body of another man, born in 1963, was discovered under the rubble. Sincere condolences to the relatives.
Ukraine’s air force claims to have shot down 34 cruise missiles overnight
Ukraine’s air force has issued a statement via Telegram on the wave of attacks from Russia overnight. In it, it claims that “the defence forces of Ukraine destroyed 34 cruise missiles … as well as 4 ‘Shahed-136/131’ unmanned aerial vehicles”. It claims that a total of 48 Kalibr-type cruise missiles had been fired by Russia.
It described the attack as featuring “81 missiles of various types” in total, and that “the launches were carried out from 10 Tu-95 strategic aircraft, seven Tu-22M3 long-range aircraft, eight Su-35 fighters, six MiG-31K aircraft and three Kalibr KR carriers in the Black Sea”.
It adds: “As a result of organised countermeasures, 8 Kh-31P and Kh-59 guided air missiles did not reach their targets. It is worth noting that the armed forces of Ukraine do not have means capable of destroying Kh-22 and Kh-47 ‘Kinzhal’ and S-300.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that energy company DTEK has reinstated power in Dnipropetrovsk.
Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, has provided this update via Telegram on the situation overnight in his region. He wrote:
The enemy launched a massive rocket attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. At least 15 arrivals of S-300 missiles were recorded. Critical infrastructure objects are hit. In addition, a civil infrastructure object was damaged in the city of Kharkiv.
Synyehubov said two women in their 70s were injured in Pisochyn, with one of them hospitalised, and that an agricultural facility was damaged in Slobozhanske.
He added that during the previous day, multiple settlements had been shelled with the result that “houses and commercial buildings were damaged, fires broke out”.
Here are some of the latest images we have received over the news wires of the aftermath of strikes on Kyiv overnight.
That’s goodbye from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. I’ll be handing over to my colleague Martin Belam shortly.
Here is what happened overnight, as Russia launched mass strikes across a sleeping Ukraine:
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Russian strikes hit targets across Ukraine early on Thursday, including the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said. The attacks struck a wide arc of targets, including cities stretching from Zhytomyr, Vynnytsia and Rivne in the west to Dnipro and Poltava in central Ukraine.
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Four people have died in Russian missile strikes on the western region of Lviv, the head of the regional military administration said on Telegram. “At this moment, it is known about four dead. These are four adults. Two men and two women. They were at home when the rocket fell. The debris is still being sorted out. There may be other people under them,” said Maksym Kozytskyi.
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Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were reported in the south-western part of the city and rescue services were on their way. Two people were injured. “After the missile attack, due to emergency power outages, 40% of the capital’s consumers are currently without heating. Water supply works normally,” he said on Telegram.
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Strikes cut off Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the power grid, the company Energoatom said. “Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days,” the company said in a statement. In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily disconnecting it from the grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. Then, it took two weeks for power to be restored to the plant.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he won’t meet with Vladimir Putin until Russia leaves Ukraine. Ukraine’s president appeared on CNN on Wednesday night in a pre-recorded interview. When asked by Wolf Blitzer what it would take to get him to meet Putin, Zelenskiy said: “We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word” and “Russia should leave our territory. And after that, we’re happy to join the diplomatic tools. In order to do that, we can find any format with our partners just after that.”
Four dead in shelling on Lviv
Four people have died in Russian missile strikes on the western region of Lviv, the head of the regional military administration said on Telegram.
“Residents of Lviv oblast, an air alert lasted for four hours this night … In Zolochiv district, an enemy rocket fell in a residential area. A fire started. It has already been extinguished,” said Maksym Kozytskyi.
“At this moment, it is known about four dead. These are four adults. Two men and two women. They were at home when the rocket fell. The debris is still being sorted out. There may be other people under them.”
Three residential buildings were destroyed. Kozytskyi posted a video of the damage:
More now on Zaporizhzhia. The statement from state energy company Energoatom says:
On the night of 9 March, the enemy delivered another barbaric massive attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.
“As a result of shelling, the last line that fed the ZNPP was damaged. Now the station works on diesel generators. The Russians are putting the world on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. And this is the day after the negotiations with the UN on the demilitarization of the ZNPP,” said Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko.
Also, as of 6,30am on 9 March, shelling of energy facilities was recorded in the Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zhytomyr regions.
Here is our wrap of the attacks overnight:
Volleys of Russian missiles struck targets across Ukraine early on Thursday, including Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second city of Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said.
The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, cutting power. Residential areas were also hit, but no casualties were immediately reported.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by 15 strikes, with targets including infrastructure. Other strikes were reported in the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.
40% of Kyiv without heating after strike on energy facility
Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko has just confirmed that one of the explosions was an attack on a power facility, and that 40% of Kyiv’s residents are now without heating. It is currently 4C.
“After the missile attack, due to emergency power outages, 40% of the capital’s consumers are currently without heating. Water supply works normally,” he said on Telegram.
Summary
It is currently 8am in Kyiv. Here is a summary of what has happened overnight:
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Russian strikes hit a series of Ukrainian regions early on Thursday, including the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said. The attacks struck a wide arc of targets, including cities stretching from Zhytomyr, Vynnytsia and Rivne in the west to Dnipro and Poltava in central Ukraine.
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Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were registered in the south-western part of the city and rescue services were on their way. Two people were injured. Power supply has been cut pre-emptively to about 15% of Kyiv residents, he said.
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The strikes cut Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant off from the power grid, the company Energoatom announced on Thursday morning. “Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days,” the company said in a statement. In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily disconnecting it from Ukraine’s National Grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. Then, it took two weeks for power to be restored to the plant.
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Zelenskiy said he won’t meet with Putin until Russia leaves Ukraine. Ukraine’s president appeared on CNN on Wednesday night in a pre-recorded interview. When asked by Wolf Blitzer what it would take to get him to meet with Putin, Zelenskiy said, “We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word” and “Russia should leave our territory. And after that, we’re happy to join the diplomatic tools. In order to do that, we can find any format with our partners just after that”.
Here is a photo from Svyatoshyn in Kyiv, where missile strikes set cars alight:
Power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant cut by shelling
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been off from the Ukrainian power grid, the power company Energoatom announced this morning.
“Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days,” the company said in a statement.
In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily disconnecting it from the grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. Then, it took two weeks for power to be restored to the plant.
⚡️ The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is completely disconnected due to the russian shelling, — Enerhoatom.
Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days. pic.twitter.com/bOcMGJ0rzg
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) March 9, 2023