Explosions rocked towns and cities in Ukraine on Thursday, in what Kyiv called one of the largest missile attacks on Moscow since the war began.
The attacks cut power in many parts of Ukraine, with Lviv, Kyiv and Odessa hardest hit, officials said.
Here’s what you need to know about what’s happening in Ukraine:
“One of the Greatest Russian Offensives”: Ukraine’s defense ministry said Thursday that Russia had launched “one of the largest missile strikes” since Russia launched its invasion in February, threatening to plunge the country into darkness as New Year’s celebrations approach.
“But they cannot defeat the Ukrainian people,” he added.
Power outage in Ukraine: A wave of missile attacks left many parts of Ukraine without electricity. Ukraine’s energy minister said power infrastructure had been damaged in Lviv, Kyiv and Odessa, and emergency power outages had occurred in those areas.
Ukraine intercepted most of the missiles: The Ukrainian military said Thursday that most of the cruise missiles fired at Ukraine were intercepted, with its defense forces shooting down 54 of 69.
Russian Missile Attacks “Ignorant Barbarism”: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said those words came to mind as he watched Moscow launch new attacks on Ukrainian cities ahead of the New Year, adding that there would be no “neutrality” in the face of such aggression. .
Russia will not negotiate under the terms of the Zelensky Peace Plan: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that Moscow would not negotiate with Kiev based on the 10-point peace formula proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he presented to world leaders in November.
Ukraine’s intelligence chief says the war is at a stalemate: “The situation is at a standstill,” Kyrillo Budanov told the BBC. “It will not move”. Neither Ukraine nor Russia have been able to achieve significant gains as Kyiv expects more advanced weapons from Western allies.
