Explosions, fires reported in Kyiv as thousands remain without heat
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia launched a wave of drones towards Kyiv overnight on Jan. 12, striking a building within the city, local officials reported.
Several explosions were heard in Kyiv around 1:30 a.m. local time, according to a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that a fire had broken out at unspecified "non-residential building" in the Solomianskyi district of the city.
Videos posted to social media appear to show a large fire emanating from the building. Vehicle fires were also reported at the site of the drone strike.
No information was immediately available as to the extent of the damage caused or whether there were any casualties sustained.
Ukraine's Air Force warned of subsequent waves of drone attacks on Kyiv Oblast beginning around 3 a.m. local time.
The renewed attack on the capital comes as the city and its residents contend with ongoing heat outages following a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine overnight on Jan. 9.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko previously called on residents of the capital, if possible, to leave the city after a Russian attack on Jan. 9 left half of the city's apartment buildings without heating.
While efforts to restore power to residential buildings continue, Klitschko warned that the situation is expected to remain difficult, as freezing temperatures are forecast to persist in the coming days.
As of early on Jan. 11, over 1,000 buildings in Kyiv remained without heat, with restorations attempts currently in progress.
Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said that significant improvements in the energy supply situation are expected by Jan. 15.
The mass Russian missile and drone strike overnight on Jan. 9 killed at least four people and injured 25 others in Kyiv and severely damaged the capital's critical infrastructure.
In recent days, Russia has also targeted regional centers in the east and south of Ukraine, leaving Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts without power on the evening of Jan. 7. New outages were reported in both regions overnight on Jan. 11.
Russian forces also targeted critical infrastructure in the western Lviv Oblast overnight on Jan. 9, launching the new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile.
