Russian air strikes in the early hours of Feb. 16 shook southern Ukraine, leaving over 100,000 residents in Mykolaiv Oblast without heat, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"This bears no relationship to military action and the situation on the front. This once again proves that Russians are fighting against our people, against life in Ukraine," Zelensky wrote of the strikes on his Telegram channel.
Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim wrote earlier in the day that the attack on the region included nine Shahed drones, with blasts and wreckage from the drones damaging five high-rise buildings and injuring one 64-year-old man.
"This was done deliberately to leave people without heat in below-zero temperatures and create a humanitarian catastrophe," wrote Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who said that as of shortly before 1 p.m. Kyiv time, 46,000 people were still without heat.
Radio Free Europe published video from parts of Mykolaiv affected, showing shopping centers with their walls demolished and stores with windows blown out.
Ukraine had recently seen some reprieve from Russia's continuous attacks on civilian energy infrastructure thanks to an unusually warm winter. Temperatures overnight are forecast to drop to -9° Celcius in Mykolaiv.
The same night, Russia launched a total of 143 drones, of which Ukraine's air force said it shot down 95. Forty others and two Russian ballistic missiles also missed their targets, per the official tally.
Several elderly civilians in Kherson and Kharkiv Oblasts were also injured in the broader Russian air campaign last night, according to local officials.
Natalia Yermak
