On day one of the G20 summit, Russia resumed missile strikes on Ukrainian cities Kyiv calls the situation in Ukraine ‘critical’
On November 15, the first day of the G20 summit taking place now in Bali, the Russian military conducted a series of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and their energy infrastructure. Air defense alerts have been posted across the country.
According to Yuriy Ignat, the spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, Russia has launched a total of 100 X-101 and X-555 missiles. In his video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned a different figure. He said that 85 missiles had been launched, aiming mainly at the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
We understand what the enemy wants. He will not achieve his aims. Around 20 strikes may still be ahead. I’m asking all of you: take care of yourselves, stay in the shelters. The strikes have disconnected power objects in may of our cities. We are working on it. We’ll repair everything. And we’ll survive everything.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that three apartment buildings in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi District had been hit by missiles. A fire broke out in one of the five-story buildings. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, has published a video of the fire.
According to Mayor Klitschko, the body of a person killed in the missile strike was found near one of the damaged buildings. Several Russian missiles had been shot down by Kyiv air defense systems.
Other cities report missile strikes on their critical infrastructure. Among them are Kharkiv, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Poltava, and Kryvyi Rih. Military administrations report explosions in Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Volyn, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava, and Kharkiv regions. Air defense systems have been triggered in a number of regions, and locals are advised not to come out of the shelters.
The massive strikes on the Ukrenergo energy system have resulted in power outages across the country. According to Klitschko, half of the Kyiv residents are without electricity. Cellular service is disrupted in a number of cities. In Kharkiv, electric transportation and the subway have stopped.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko calls the situation in Ukraine “critical”:
The greatest number of hits have been registered in the center and in the north of the country. In the capital, the situation is very hard; emergency blackout schedules are being introduced. Ukrenergo is forced to begin emergency blackouts to balance the energy system and avoid further emergencies with the equipment.
The neighboring Moldova, too, is experiencing problems with electricity. The Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Spynu connects power outages in Moldova with the Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Moscow is yet to make any comment on the strikes. Earlier, Ukraine had anticipated that Russia might resume missile strikes on its cities during the G20 summit, particularly since President Volodymyr Zelensky and a number of other leaders had made clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be welcome this week in Bali.