KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine's western Lviv region killed one man while another was killed in an attack in the country's northeast, officials said Sunday.
The governor of the city of Lviv, Maxim Kozitsky, wrote on the social media application Telegram that the attack that occurred in Lviv destroyed a building and started a fire. He added that rescue operations are underway.
In the Kharkiv region, Kharkiv Region Governor Oleh Sinyhopov said an airstrike killed a 19-year-old man after a missile hit a gas station.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's Odessa region were left without power on Sunday after debris from a Russian drone caused a fire at an energy facility, Gov. Oleh Kiper said. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private electricity operator, said about 170,000 homes experienced power outages as a result of the attack.
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down nine out of 11 Shahed drones launched by Russia overnight, as well as nine out of 14 cruise missiles.
Russia escalated its movements Attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine In recent days, causing major damage in several areas.
The Ukrainian energy company Centernergo announced on Saturday that the Zmiev thermal power plant, one of the largest in the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country, was completely destroyed after the Russian bombing last week. Power outage schedules remain in place for about 120,000 people in the region, with 700,000 people losing power after the plant was bombed on March 22.
In a message Sunday to mark the day some Christians in Ukraine celebrate Easter, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the country to persevere.
“Not a day or night goes by now without Russian terrorism trying to destroy our lives. Last night, we once again saw rockets and Shahed missiles fired at our people.”
“We stand up for ourselves, we persevere; Our soul does not give up and knows that death can be avoided. “Life can win,” Zelensky said.
Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox Christians in Ukraine celebrate Easter on Sunday according to the Gregorian calendar. The country's religious majority, Orthodox Christians, follow the Julian calendar, which sets Easter in 2024 on May 5.
Many Orthodox Christians in Ukraine It started on Christmas Coinciding with the Gregorian calendar on December 25, 2023, in a move adopted by some of the country’s churches to distance themselves from Russia. However, the dates of Easter and other religious holidays have remained unchanged until now.
Zelensky, along with Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal and several ambassadors, spent the day in the town of Bucha in the Kiev region, to commemorate the second anniversary of the region's liberation from Russian forces.
The name Bucha has come to conjure the brutality of Moscow's army since its founding Large-scale invasion The war in Ukraine began in February 2022. Ukrainian forces, who retook the town on March 31, 2022, found the bodies of men, women, and children in the streets, in squares, in homes, and in mass graves. Some of them showed signs of torture.
The Ukrainian leader placed a lamp on the town's wall of remembrance, the president's website reported. The monument lists the names of 509 civilians identified so far among those killed during the occupation.
In Russia, 10 Czech-made Vampire missiles landed in the Belgorod region on Sunday, the Defense Ministry said. The region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a woman was injured when a fire broke out following the attack. Another woman was killed when the bombing hit villages along the Russian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed orders heralding the start of the country's annual spring conscription season, officially enlisting 150,000 recruits.
Parliament of Russia Increase the maximum age for conscripts aged 27 to 30 in July 2023 in a move that appears to be part of efforts to expand the country's military during fighting in Ukraine. All Russian men are required to complete year-long national service, although many avoid the draft by using deferrals granted to students, chronically ill people and others.
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