Russia Hits Ukraine with Biggest Missile Strike in Weeks
2023-03-10
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1At least six people died early Thursday as Russia launched a wave of missiles into Ukraine.
2It was the first large missile attack by Russia since the middle of February.
3The attack cut off electricity in several places including Kyiv and Kharkiv.
4The strikes also made Europe's largest nuclear plant switch to its emergency cooling system to avoid dangerous overheating.
5Nuclear power centers need to be connected to electricity to operate such cooling systems.
6The Zaporizhzhia nuclear center is now reconnected, but many thousands of people are still without heat or electricity.
7Every time there is an attack near the power plant, said Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, "we are rolling a dice."
8Grossi said "one day our luck will run out" and there will be an accident.
9The attacks targeted areas in western Ukraine, far from the main battle lines.
10The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes were Russia's answer to a Ukrainian attack in the Bryansk part of western Russia.
11Ukraine said the attack in Russia did not happen, and Russia was making a false claim to justify the missile attack.
12Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 81 missiles and eight drones on Thursday.
13The Ukrainian military stopped 34 missiles and four drones, but it said the different kinds of weapons made the defense difficult.
14Included in the attack were six hypersonic, or very high-speed missiles. Experts say they are Russia's most modern missiles and Ukraine's military cannot stop them.
15The attack continues Russia's earlier efforts to strike Ukraine's power system.
16Experts have said Russia thinks knocking out heat and electricity will make Ukrainian leaders more willing to give land to Russia in return for a peace deal.
17Oleh Zhdanov is a Ukrainian military expert.
18He told the Associated Press that Thursday's attack did not hurt the Ukrainian army but damaged "the nerves of the civilian population of Ukraine."
19Many in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine's two largest cities, were without heat on a day when the temperature was about zero degrees Celsius.
20Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a statement about the attack.
21"The occupiers can only terrorize civilians," he said.
22"That's all they can do. But it won't help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done."
23Dmytro Kuleba is Ukraine's Foreign Minister.
24On Twitter he wrote: "No military objective, just Russian barbarism."
25The Reuters news agency reported that at least five people were killed in an area close to the western city of Lviv.
26Oksana Ostapenko lives in the western village of Zolochiv where she was standing outside of her sister's destroyed home.
27She said her sister and two others have not been found.
28She thinks they did not escape.
29"They still haven't found them. We were hoping that they're alive. But they're not alive," she said.
30In Kyiv, 57-year-old Viktor Bukhta said a missile landed in his neighborhood and people were injured.
31He said he was burned trying to put out a fire.
32Ukrainian officials said six people were killed in other attacks Wednesday and Thursday.
33I'm Dan Friedell.
1At least six people died early Thursday as Russia launched a wave of missiles into Ukraine. 2It was the first large missile attack by Russia since the middle of February. 3The attack cut off electricity in several places including Kyiv and Kharkiv. The strikes also made Europe's largest nuclear plant switch to its emergency cooling system to avoid dangerous overheating. Nuclear power centers need to be connected to electricity to operate such cooling systems. 4The Zaporizhzhia nuclear center is now reconnected, but many thousands of people are still without heat or electricity. 5Every time there is an attack near the power plant, said Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, "we are rolling a dice." Grossi said "one day our luck will run out" and there will be an accident. 6The attacks targeted areas in western Ukraine, far from the main battle lines. 7The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes were Russia's answer to a Ukrainian attack in the Bryansk part of western Russia. 8Ukraine said the attack in Russia did not happen, and Russia was making a false claim to justify the missile attack. 9Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 81 missiles and eight drones on Thursday. The Ukrainian military stopped 34 missiles and four drones, but it said the different kinds of weapons made the defense difficult. 10Included in the attack were six hypersonic, or very high-speed missiles. Experts say they are Russia's most modern missiles and Ukraine's military cannot stop them. 11The attack continues Russia's earlier efforts to strike Ukraine's power system. Experts have said Russia thinks knocking out heat and electricity will make Ukrainian leaders more willing to give land to Russia in return for a peace deal. 12Oleh Zhdanov is a Ukrainian military expert. He told the Associated Press that Thursday's attack did not hurt the Ukrainian army but damaged "the nerves of the civilian population of Ukraine." 13Many in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine's two largest cities, were without heat on a day when the temperature was about zero degrees Celsius. 14Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a statement about the attack. 15"The occupiers can only terrorize civilians," he said. "That's all they can do. But it won't help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done." 16Dmytro Kuleba is Ukraine's Foreign Minister. On Twitter he wrote: "No military objective, just Russian barbarism." 17The Reuters news agency reported that at least five people were killed in an area close to the western city of Lviv. 18Oksana Ostapenko lives in the western village of Zolochiv where she was standing outside of her sister's destroyed home. She said her sister and two others have not been found. She thinks they did not escape. 19"They still haven't found them. We were hoping that they're alive. But they're not alive," she said. 20In Kyiv, 57-year-old Viktor Bukhta said a missile landed in his neighborhood and people were injured. He said he was burned trying to put out a fire. 21Ukrainian officials said six people were killed in other attacks Wednesday and Thursday. 22I'm Dan Friedell. 23Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reports by Reuters and the Associated Press. 24___________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26roll the dice -idiom (informal) to say something could have either a good or bad result; to leave something completely to chance 27drone -n. a small aircraft or vehicle that operates with a person but by radio control 28barbarism -n. cruel and violent behavior 29___________________________________________________________________ 30We want to hear from you. Do you think Russia will stop the missile attacks? 31We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.