Ukraine accused Russian forces of attacking civilian infrastructure in response to a rapid weekend offensive by Ukrainian troops that drove Russia to abandon its main bastion in the Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian officials said the targets of the retaliatory attacks included water facilities and a thermal power station in Kharkiv, and that they caused widespread blackouts.
“No military facilities, the goal is to deprive people of light & heat,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter late on Sunday.
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, also denounced the strikes.
“Russia’s apparent response to Ukraine liberating cities and villages in the east: sending missiles to attempt to destroy critical civilian infrastructure,” Brink tweeted.
