Russia carries out missile attacks on Ukraine's Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv regions

By David Kachkachishvili

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) – Russian forces carried out missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions, according to Ukrainian officials on Saturday.

Oleksiy Kuleba, the Kyiv Oblast governor, said on Telegram that their air defense systems were working.

Kuleba did not disclose the location of the attack but said rescue workers were on site.

Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, said Russian forces attacked with S-300 missiles and Iranian-made drones at night.

Energy infrastructure facilities were damaged as a result of the attacks, Starukh added.

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, under Russian control since March, has been at the center of growing concerns about a possible nuclear disaster between Moscow and Kyiv, both accusing each other of attacks on the facility.

Zaporizhzhia, one of the world's 10 largest nuclear power plants, generated 20% of Ukraine's electricity prior to the ongoing Moscow-Kyiv war.

Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the Melitopol region of Zaporizhzhia, said four explosions occurred in the region.

According to local media, explosions also took place in Kharkiv at night, while no casualties have been reported yet.

Zaporizhzhia is one of four Ukrainian regions, including Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson, where Moscow-backed referendums were recently held to annex parts of eastern Ukraine in violation of international law.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara.