Russian missile hits apartments in Ukrainian city after U.S. warns on war crimes - Reuters

KYIV/MYKOLAIV, Ukraine, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian missiles crashed into infrastructure targets crossed Ukraine connected Tuesday greeting arsenic Moscow stepped up what looked similar a deliberate run to destruct energy and h2o facilities earlier winter.

The large of Zhytomyr, a metropolis of 263,000 people, said the attacks had knocked retired the powerfulness and h2o supply, and 2 explosions rocked an vigor installation successful the southeastern metropolis of Dnipro, a metropolis of astir 1 million, causing superior damage, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a Ukrainian statesmanlike aide.

In the confederate Ukrainian larboard of Mykolaiv, a rocket slammed into an flat gathering sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 man, a Reuters witnesser said, and blasts were heard and fume seen rising successful Kyiv, the capital.

There were besides reports of powerfulness facilities being targeted successful the metropolis of Kharkiv, a metropolis with a pre-war colonisation of 1.43 cardinal people, adjacent to the Russian border.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of terrorising and sidesplitting civilians with the aerial attacks, which came a time aft drone strikes connected Kyiv and different cities killed astatine slightest 4 people.

"Ukraine is nether occurrence by the occupiers. They proceed to bash what they bash champion - terrorise and termination civilians," Zelenskiy wrote connected the Telegram messaging app.

"The violent authorities volition not alteration thing for itself with specified actions. It volition lone corroborate its destructive and murderous essence, for which it volition surely beryllium held to account."

There was nary contiguous connection connected however galore radical had been killed successful the strikes.

Russia earlier this period named General Sergei Suvorikin arsenic wide commandant of what Moscow calls its "special operation" successful Ukraine. Suvorikin served successful Syria and Chechnya wherever Russian forces pounded cities successful a scorched world argumentation against its foes.

Nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian media due to the fact that of his alleged toughness, his assignment was followed by the biggest question of rocket strikes against Ukraine since Moscow invaded connected Feb. 24.

Russia carried retired its latest strikes connected Tuesday aft the United States warned it would clasp Moscow accountable for immoderate warfare crimes.

Moscow denies targeting civilians. Its defence ministry has said it is carrying retired attacks connected subject targets and vigor infrastructure crossed Ukraine utilizing high-precision weapons.

In the larboard metropolis of Mykolaiv, a Reuters witnesser said they had heard 3 explosions successful the aboriginal hours of Tuesday.

A rocket had wholly destroyed 1 helping of a gathering successful the downtown area, leaving a monolithic crater, they said. A occurrence unit was seen pulling the dormant assemblage of a antheral from the rubble.

"In Mykolaiv, the force destroyed a residential gathering with S-300 missiles. A idiosyncratic died. There was besides a onslaught astatine the angiosperm market, the chestnut park. I wonderment what the Russian terrorists were warring against astatine these perfectly peaceful facilities?" Zelenskiy said.

The Russian strikes followed advances by Ukrainian forces successful the eastbound and southbound and came aft an Oct. 8 blast connected a span linking mainland Russia to Crimea - the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine successful 2014.

U.S. President Joe Biden's property caput Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters connected Monday that the White House "strongly condemns Russia’s rocket strikes" and spoke of Putin’s "brutality".

Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine connected Feb. 24 successful what helium called a "special operation" to basal retired what it calls unsafe nationalists.

Ukrainian forces person mounted stiff resistance, with the assistance of arms supplied by the United States and its allies, who person besides imposed sweeping sanctions connected Russia successful an effort to unit it to withdraw.

Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Philippa Fletcher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.