Russian missiles pound more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns

Drones used to target buildings near the capital, Ukrainian authorities say

Rescuers at the site of an apartment building in Mykolaiv on Thursday after it was damaged by a Russian military strike. Reuters

More than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns have been pounded by Russian missiles, leaving thousands of people without power, officials said on Thursday.

The southern city of Mykolaiv was “massively shelled” and drones were used to attack buildings near Kyiv as retaliatory attacks by Russia continued after last weekend’s fatal blast on a Crimea bridge.

President Vladimir Putin promised that his military would respond with force to the explosion on the Kerch bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, which he branded a “terrorist act” carried out by Ukraine’s secret service.

The latest attacks on Ukrainian settlements on Wednesday and Thursday occurred after a UN General Assembly resolution called Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions illegal and Kyiv’s allies pledged more lethal aid.

More than 30 multi-storey and private houses, gas pipelines and power lines in the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region were attacked and more than 2,000 families were left without electricity, the region’s governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, wrote on Telegram.

Mykolaiv, a strategic city close to the Black Sea, was “massively shelled” by the Russian army, said Oleksandr Senkevich, the city’s mayor.

The city is a major shipbuilding centre and has been targeted by Russia since the invasion was launched in February.

"A five-storey residential building was hit, the two upper floors were completely destroyed, the rest ― under rubble. Rescuers are working on the site,” he said.

Onlookers at a rocket crater in a park in central Kyiv on Wednesday, days after the site was attacked by Russia. AFP

Russia also targeted a settlement in the Kyiv region using explosive drones early on Thursday, the region's administration said on Telegram.

Governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba, said based on preliminary information the strikes were carried out using Iran-made loitering munitions. These are often known as "kamikaze drones".

Critical infrastructure facilities were hit by the drones, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.

Ukraine’s air force carried out 32 strikes on 25 Russian targets, according to Ukraine's Armed Forces General Staff.

Russia reiterated its position that the West, by providing military assistance to Ukraine, had made itself a “direct party to the conflict”. Moscow warned that the admission of Ukraine to Nato risked triggering a third world war.

"Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three," deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, told state news agency Tass on Thursday.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said Russia’s missile attacks on Ukraine pointed to a sign of weakness. "Russia is actually losing on the battlefield," he said.

The escalation in attacks on civilians in Ukraine comes after Russia lost territory in eastern Ukraine to a counter-offensive by troops loyal to Kyiv.

Mr Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian soil, which he says includes the four regions he annexed last month. He declared Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzia and Kherson part of the Russian Federation after referendums in the oblasts, which were dismissed by western powers as sham polls.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he doubted that Mr Putin would resort to nuclear options.

A senior Nato official said a Russian nuclear strike would almost certainly trigger a "physical response" from Ukraine's allies and potentially from the transatlantic military alliance.

Ukraine war latest - in pictures

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  Smoke rises on the outskirts of the city during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters

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  Workers surround the Monument to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred with sandbags against damage from shelling in Mykolaiv. EPA

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  Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for talks before a meeting between the Russian president and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. AFP

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  People take water from a water pump in Kyiv. EPA

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  A woman walks past a damaged building in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Reuters

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  A woman outside her home, which was destroyed during battles at the start of the conflict, in Yahidne, Chernihiv. Getty Images

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  People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters

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  Firefighters at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

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  A woman walks past the site of a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Reuters

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  Rescuer workers at a building destroyed in an attack in Mykolaiv. Reuters

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  Parts of a drone lie on a street in Kyiv. Reuters

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  A drone flies over the Ukrainian capital during an attack. AFP

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  Ukrainian servicemen tow a captured Russian armoured vehicle in Rudneve village, Kharkiv. EPA

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  A partially destroyed residential building in Saltivka, in Kharkiv. AP

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  Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer on a front line near Kupyansk city, Kharkiv. EPA

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  Ukrainian servicemen near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region. AFP

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  An officer from a Ukrainian national police emergency demining team prepares to detonate collected anti-tank mines and explosives near Lyman, in the Donetsk region. AFP

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  A boy playing on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Kyiv. AFP

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  A young couple hiding underground during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

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  Ukrainian firefighters looking for survivors after a strike in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

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  Workers fix a banner reading 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!' to the State Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. AFP

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  Residents try to cross a destroyed bridge in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AFP

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  Alyona Kishinskaya helps to clean up a shop as it prepares to reopen in Balakiya, Ukraine, after a six-month Russian occupation. Getty Images

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  Alla, 12, has a swinging time in Balakiya, Ukraine, as life goes on despite the war. Getty Images

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  Ukrainian flags in the town square in Balakiya. Getty Images

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  A destroyed Russian command centre in Izium, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  In what may be a final farewell, young Russian recruits - escorted by their wives - walk to a train station in Volgograd before being sent to war in Ukraine. AP

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  Russian recruits board the train to Ukraine in Volgograd. AP

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  Ukrainian soliders drive a tank at the recently retaken eastern side of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. AFP

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  Volunteers pass boxes of food aid on a destroyed bridge over the Oskil River. AFP

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  Ukrainian soliders rest on an armoured personnel carrier. AFP

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  A sign warns of landmines in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  This crater was left after a missile strike in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AFP