One dead in Ukraine as Trump threatens to impose sanctions on Russia russia-ukraine war news
The firing has intensified in the early days of Trump’s new term amid a race for advantage between Moscow and Kiev.
A drone and missile attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia killed one person and wounded at least 24, regional officials said, blaming Russia for the attack.
More than 20,000 residents were left without electricity and 17,000 without heating as a result of the overnight attack, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov, who said an energy facility was destroyed.
A 47-year-old man was killed in the attack and the injured included at least four emergency workers and a two-month-old baby, he said.
“Residential buildings… were damaged by the strike. The blast wave shattered windows and damaged a roof, Fedorov said on Telegram.
Later, Ukraine’s military said it shot down 57 of the 92 drones launched in the Russian military’s overnight attack, adding that another 27 drones were “locally lost” and caused no damage. .
Thursday’s deadly strike was the latest in an intense exchange in southern Ukraine, as Moscow and Kiev both compete for advantage in the early days of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
On Wednesday, Trump stepped up pressure on Vladimir Putin to reach a peace deal with Ukraine and threatened tough economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the nearly three-year-old war.
Ahead of his inauguration on Monday, Trump promised to immediately end the Ukraine war as soon as he takes office, raising expectations that he would leverage the aid to force Kiev into making concessions to Russia, which has Attacked in February 2022.
Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Kiev, said Zaporizhia had come under heavy fire over the past 24 hours, with an estimated 361 strikes, including four ballistic missiles.
“The real concern now is the people who are without electricity. It is the middle of winter,” Khan said.
Earlier, Russia-backed authorities in the partially occupied Zaporizhia region said at least four Ukrainian drones attacked Enrhodar, a town whose residents mostly work at the Russian-held Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Two power substations near Enrhodar were reportedly affected. There were no injuries and no details of damage were reported.
Russia seized Europe’s largest nuclear plant, with six reactors, in the early days of the war and each side has since accused the other of carrying out periodic attacks on the facility.
“This is a terrorist act,” acting mayor Maxim Pukha told Russia’s RIA news agency. Civil infrastructure and residential areas have been damaged, he said. “Peaceful residents should in no way be the target of such an attack.”
