Death toll from Russia’s new missile attacks on Ukraine rises to 19

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - The death toll from Russia’s latest strikes in Ukraine has risen to 19 with dozens of others wounded, according to the country’s emergency service on Tuesday.

The number of injured by Russia’s shelling, which started on Monday, reached 105, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement.

“As a result of attacks, critical and civil infrastructure facilities were struck yesterday in 12 regions and Kyiv city, where more than 30 fires broke out, which were extinguished by the State Emergency Service," it added.

The emergency body said the electricity supply to 3,571 settlements in Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Lviv, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions was restored.

But 301 settlements in Kyiv, Lviv, Sumy, Ternopil, and Khmelnytsky regions remain without power.

A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman late Monday said all intended targets in Ukraine, including military command, communications, and energy facilities, were hit with high-precision weapons.

President Vladimir Putin said the strikes were in response to explosions on the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, and other "terrorist attacks."

But Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Putin was not “provoked” by the bridge attack, as "Russia had been constantly hitting Ukraine with missiles."

"Putin is desperate because of battlefield defeats and uses missile terror to try to change the pace of war in his favor," he said on Twitter.

The latest strikes have been condemned by Ukrainian and Western officials, who vowed continued support for Kyiv.

Russia started its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive, while Moscow called up more reservists and annexed four Ukrainian regions into Russia following "sham" referendums.