An intense wave of Russian missile and drone strikes on six Ukrainian regions on February 7 killed at least five people -- four of them in a high-rise apartment block in the capital, Kyiv -- wounded dozens of others, and caused widespread damage to energy infrastructure.
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The latest round of Russian strikes came as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the head of the UN's atomic agency, Rafael Grossi, were in Ukraine, with the latter visiting the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant to assess the situation amid concerns about the plant's safety.
In Kyiv, debris from a downed Russian missile fell on an 18-story residential block in the southern Holosiyivskiy district, triggering a fire that killed at least four people, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Sixteen people were injured in Holosiyivskiy and in the eastern district of Dnipro in the capital, Klymenko said. Rescue crews continue to work at the sites, he added.
Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said at least 38 people were wounded in the capital.
Fragments of a downed Russian missile also damaged electricity lines, leaving part of the Ukrainian capital without power and heating.
"Some consumers on the left bank [of the Dnieper River] are currently without electricity," Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram. "The heating supply main on the left bank was damaged."
"Another massive Russian air attack against our country," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, as an air-raid alert was declared for all of Ukraine. "Six regions came under enemy fire. All of our services are currently working to eliminate the consequences of this terror," Zelenskiy wrote.
In the southern city of Mykolayiv, one mad died following a Russian strike, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said. Russian missiles also hit the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, wounding two people, regional officials said.
Russian Missile Strikes On Kyiv Leave Parts Of Capital Without Power
Parts of the Ukrainian capital were left without power and heating following a deadly Russian missile attack that struck in the early morning hours of February 7, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 64 drones and missiles at Ukraine's territory. The Ukrainian air defense shot down 29 missiles and 15 drones, it said.
Borrell, in Kyiv on a two-day visit to highlight the bloc's support for Ukraine, posted a picture on X from a shelter.
"Starting my morning in the shelter as air raid alarms are sounding across Kyiv," Borrell wrote. "This is the daily reality of the brave Ukrainian people, since Russia launched its illegal aggression."
Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), meanwhile, arrived at Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhya -- Europe's largest nuclear power plant -- accompanied by IAEA mission staff and Russian soldiers, Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Grossi on February 6 held talks in Kyiv with Zelenskiy, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and other Ukrainian officials.
Russia occupied the plant shortly after it launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and its six nuclear reactors are now idled.
The UN nuclear watchdog has voiced concern many times over the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe at the plant amid fighting in the area.
Zelenskiy said he told Grossi during their meeting that the Russian occupation of the plant must end.
"This is the main prerequisite for the restoration of radiation safety for our entire region," Zelenskiy said in his evening video address.
Grossi said the IAEA has had a monitoring team at the plant since September 2022, but its experts have not been able to inspect every part of the power station.
At times "we weren't granted the access that we were requesting for certain areas of the facility," Grossi said at a press conference in Kyiv.
One of the problems is the situation with the nuclear fuel, which has been inside the reactors for years and is reaching the end of its useful life.
Grossi also said he was worried about the operational safety of the plant amid personnel cuts after Moscow denied access to employees of Ukraine’s Enerhoatom.
Halushchenko said the Russian occupants were preventing hundreds of qualified workers from entering the plant.
"We're talking about 400 people who are highly skilled and, most importantly, licensed. You can't just take them away," Halushchenko told a joint news conference with Grossi.
With reporting by Reuters and AP
This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
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