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Russian missiles targeted more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns on October 13, officials said, hitting critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital region, a day after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territory “illegal” and Ukraine’s allies committed more military aid.
Three drones operated by Russian forces attacked the small town of Makariv, west of Kyiv, early on October 13, Andriy Nebytov, head of the Kyiv region police, said on the Telegram messaging app.
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“There was an overnight drones bombardment by invaders on the Makariv community,” Nebytov said. “According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.”
Kyiv regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the strikes were caused by Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles known as kamikaze drones.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said the drones hit critical infrastructure facilities.
In Mykolayiv, overnight shelling destroyed an apartment building as fighting continued along Ukraine’s southern front.
“A five-story residential building was hit, the two upper floors were completely destroyed, the rest — under rubble. Rescuers are working on the site,” Mykolayiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkovych said in a social media post, adding the southern city was “massively shelled.”
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
Mykolayiv, a shipbuilding center and port on the Pivdenniy Buh River off the Black Sea, has suffered heavy Russian bombardments throughout the war.
Russian shelling also hit the southern city of Nikopol, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the regional administration, Valentyn Reznichenko, reported.
He said one person was seriously wounded while more than 30 buildings, gas pipelines, and power lines were damaged.
“More than 2,000 families were left without electricity. Energy workers are already working,” Reznichenko said.
WATCH: Artillery battles erupted in the hotly contested Donetsk region near Bakhmut, a strategic city in the Donbas. Russian forces have been focused on capturing Bakhmut in recent weeks.
In total, Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Staff said, Russian missiles hit more than 40 settlements in the past 24 hours, while Ukraine’s air force carried out 32 strikes on 25 Russian targets.
The latest wave of air strikes for a fourth day in a row came shortly after more than three-quarters of the 193-member UN General Assembly on October 12 voted in favor of a resolution that called Moscow’s seizing of four Ukrainian regions illegal.
Only Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Belarus joined Russia in voting against the resolution. Thirty-five countries abstained from the vote, including China, India, South Africa, and Pakistan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter he was “grateful to 143 states that supported historic #UNGA resolution… [Russia’s] attempt at annexation is worthless.”
The resolution “condemns the organization by the Russian Federation of so-called referendums within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine” and “the attempted illegal annexation” announced last month of four regions by President Vladimir Putin.
It calls on all UN and international agencies not to recognize any changes announced by Russia to borders and demands that Moscow “immediately and unconditionally reverse” its decisions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the vote showed international unity against Russia and repeated Washington would never recognize the “sham” referendums.
The vote “is a powerful reminder that the overwhelming majority of nations stand with Ukraine, in defense of the UN Charter and in resolute opposition to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and its people,” Blinken said in a statement.
“With very few nations voting with Russia today, it is clear that international unity on this question is resolute and support for Ukraine at the UN and beyond is unwavering,” Blinken said.
Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia told the General Assembly ahead of the vote that the resolution was “politicized and openly provocative,” adding it “could destroy any and all efforts in favor of a diplomatic solution to the crisis.”
The General Assembly vote, which the United States and other Western countries had lobbied for, followed a veto by Russia last month of a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council.
Moscow last month proclaimed its annexation of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya — after staging what it called referendums. Ukraine and its allies denounced the referendums as illegal and said some voters were coerced into participating under threat of being shot.
Earlier on October 12, Ukraine’s allies announced delivery of new air defenses and committed more military aid to Kyiv to protect against Russia’s indiscriminate missile attacks across the country.
Pledges from the more than 50 countries gathered in Brussels included an announcement by France that it would deliver radar and air-defense systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Canada said it would provide artillery rounds and winter clothing among other supplies.
Germany has sent the first of four planned IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, while Washingtonthe United States said it would speed up delivery of a promised NASAMS air-defense system.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
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