Missiles strike Kyiv as E.U. brands Russia a state sponsor of terrorism - The Washington Post

As Moscow persisted successful its relentless bid to permission millions of Ukrainians without electricity, vigor and h2o during the acold wintertime months, the European Parliament successful a symbolic ballot connected Wednesday designated Russia arsenic a “state sponsor of terrorism,” citing its “brutal and inhumane acts” against mean citizens.

In a video code to the U.N. Security Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a “firm reaction” to the carnage. “In our midst,” helium told the council, which included Russia’s ambassador, “you person the typical of a authorities that does not connection thing to the satellite but terror” and should not enactment “in immoderate benignant of voting concerning its terror.”

“This is simply a dormant end,” Zelensky said astatine the exigency meeting, called by the United States and Albania to sermon the Russian strikes. “We request your decision.”

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motive “could not beryllium much wide and much coldblooded. ... He has decided that if helium can’t prehend Ukraine by force, helium volition effort to frost the state into submission.”

But portion condemnation of the Russian strikes was widespread, a fig of assembly members from Africa, on with India, China, Brazil and others, expressed interest that what person go near-weekly meetings connected the situation were not achieving overmuch and called for renewed diplomacy to halt the war.

In summation to what Ukraine’s main powerfulness grid operator, Ukrenergo, said connected its Telegram transmission were blackouts successful “all regions” of the country, the Energy Ministry said that strikes had led to impermanent shutdowns astatine each atomic powerfulness plants nether Kyiv’s control, arsenic good arsenic astatine “the bulk of thermal and hydroelectric plants.”

Power was besides knocked retired crossed astir of neighboring Moldova, wherever the electrical grid is connected to Ukraine. Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu, posting connected Twitter, said that helium had summoned the Russian ambassador for “explanations.”

Ukraine’s aerial unit said that it had changeable down 51 retired of 70 missiles launched connected Wednesday and had besides destroyed 5 self-destructing drones. The Kyiv metropolis subject medication reported that of 31 missiles fired astatine the capital, 22 were intercepted by aerial defence systems.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko besides said that the city’s h2o proviso would beryllium chopped disconnected temporarily, and arsenic nighttime fell, ample portions of the metropolis were without electricity. The strikes besides near each of Lviv, the largest metropolis successful occidental Ukraine, without power, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said connected his Telegram channel.

“While idiosyncratic is waiting for World Cup results and the fig of goals scored, Ukrainians are waiting for different people — fig of intercepted Russian missiles,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky, wrote connected Twitter arsenic the bombardment was underway.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has insisted the bombing is serving subject purposes and volition proceed until Moscow’s warfare aims person been achieved.

One early-morning rocket onslaught crushed the maternity ward of a infirmary successful Vilnyansk, a municipality successful the Zaporizhzhia region, sidesplitting a 2-day-old babe boy.

The rocket, which Zelensky said was fired by Russia, struck the infirmary astatine 2 a.m. arsenic a parent was dormant adjacent to her newborn’s crib, according to the hospital’s aesculapian director, Valeria Kroshena.

The onslaught destroyed the second-floor maternity ward and the session beneath it, sending the building’s ceramic walls tumbling to the ground. The blast besides injured a doc who was connected work overnight and who is present recovering from superior burns, Kroshena said.

A antithetic doctor, who delivered the newborn baby, was off-duty and rushed to the infirmary arsenic soon arsenic she heard the blast, according to Kroshena. The doc knew the lone patients successful the infirmary that nighttime were the parent and her babe son, Kroshena said, and she knew precisely wherever they were. The mother, who is successful her mid-30s, was not injured. The lad was her 4th baby, Kroshena said. “It’s unthinkable,” she said.

On Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers utilized excavators to excavation done what was near of the maternity ward. Some rooms remained partially standing, with pieces of the ceiling collapsed onto infirmary beds and a babe crib. Windows successful the gathering adjacent doorway were blown retired and shattered from the blast.

The rocket was a Russian-made S-300, section officials said.

The onslaught successful Vilnyansk, astir 20 miles northeast of Zaporizhzhia city, the determination capital, occurred little than a week aft different rocket deed a residential gathering successful the aforesaid town, sidesplitting 11 people. Zaporizhzhia is 1 of 4 Ukrainian regions that Putin has claimed to beryllium annexed by Russia — a usurpation of planetary law.

Despite Putin’s annexation claims, Russia has not occupied Zaporizhzhia city, and it has besides retreated from Kherson city, the lone determination superior it had seized since the commencement of the full-scale penetration successful February.

Two of the dormant successful the earlier onslaught successful Vilnyansk were besides youths, ages 10 and 15.

After the Russian retreat from Kherson city, attraction has turned to the Zaporizhzhia portion arsenic the astir apt determination for a caller Ukrainian counteroffensive, perchance pushing southbound toward the occupied metropolis of Melitopol and the captious Kakhovka hydroelectric powerfulness works and dam successful the Kherson region.

Wednesday’s ballot by the European Parliament, the legislature of the 27-member European Union, reflected the continuing choler successful Brussels and crossed Europe implicit Russia’s penetration and the outbreak of full-scale warfare connected the European continent for the archetypal clip successful the 21st century.

Konstantin Kosachev, the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee successful the Federation Council, the precocious enclosure of Russia’s parliament, said that Wednesday’s solution by the European Parliament violated planetary instrumentality and that a authorities cannot beryllium branded arsenic terrorist.

“Russia has ever powerfully opposed the conception of ‘state terrorism,’ ” Kosachev wrote successful a connection posted connected Telegram, adding, “The corporate West is actively trying to present the rule of corporate work and punish each ‘objectionable’ countries and regimes simply due to the fact that determination is an alternate constituent of presumption and a antithetic exemplary of behavior.”

In his effect astatine the U.N. Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said that Russia’s strikes were designed to weaken “the subject quality of our opponents” and were conducted with “precision.” He charged that Western-supplied weapons were liable for overmuch of the harm to residential and different civilian areas and chastised the planetary community, saying it had not shown the aforesaid interest for what helium described arsenic Ukrainian warfare crimes.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that it would expedite an further $400 cardinal successful subject assistance for Ukraine, including further aerial defenses to antagonistic Russia’s “unrelenting and brutal” rocket and drone attacks connected the country’s civilian infrastructure.

The bundle contains an unspecified fig of munitions for the 2 NASAMS surface-to-air systems Washington has provided, positive 150 dense instrumentality guns equipped with thermal sights to assistance Ukrainian forces spot and weapon down unmanned aircraft. More than 200 powerfulness generators volition beryllium sent from U.S. stockpiles arsenic well.

Schmidt reported from Vilnyansk. Francesca Ebel successful London and Karen DeYoung successful Washington contributed to this report.