January 14, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

The Ukrainian Air Force says the Russian missile that hit an apartment block in Dnipro Saturday, killing nine people and injuring dozens, was a Kh-22 — an older type of cruise missile that is a less accurate weapon than most modern missiles.

Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, said the Kh-22 "was fired from a Tu-22M3 long-range bomber, launched from the area near Kursk and the Sea of Azov."

"There were a total of five launches of these missiles," Ihnat said.

CNN reported last June that it was a Kh-22 that hit a shopping center in Kremenchuk in central Ukraine. 

Originally designed as an anti-ship missile, the Kh-22 carries a warhead of nearly one metric tonne. But Western analysts say it is only accurate to a radius of about 500 meters (about 1,600 feet).

The Russian Defense Ministry said the target in June was a facility that repaired military vehicles, which was several hundred meters from the shopping center. At least 18 people were killed in that attack.

Speaking of Saturday's attack, Ihnat said: "They hit with such a missile a densely populated city with people, women, children. There is no explanation and justification for this terrorist act." 

Russia has used the Kh-22 throughout its campaign in Ukraine, drawing on stocks estimated to be in the thousands. 

CNN has not independently verified the type of missile used in the strike.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said that one child was killed in the Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the central city of Dnipro.

"Five people died including one child," according to its Telegram account.

The SES also said 64 people, including 14 children, were injured.

Thirty-five people, including six children, were rescued from the wreckage, according to the SES.

The White House condemned Russia's latest bombardment of Ukraine on Saturday, which targeted utility infrastructure and led to at least five deaths, according to Ukrainian officials.

"The United States will continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself, including air defense systems, along with our allies and partners – and we will continue our work to hold Russian forces accountable for their war crimes and atrocities. Russia continues to underestimate the strength and resolve of the Ukrainian people, and these latest attempts to demoralize them will fail yet again,” the spokesperson said. 

Some background: Last week, the US announced its largest aid package to Ukraine since the war began — $2.85 billion worth of US equipment, including 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 500 TOW anti-tank missiles and tens of thousands of rounds of 25mm ammunition.

Ukrainian troops are also set to begin training on the Patriot missile system in the United States as soon as next week, the Pentagon announced earlier this week.

The Ukrainian military said the battle for the town of Soledar continue as Russian forces try to advance in several parts of the eastern Donetsk region.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said late Saturday local time that "the enemy does not abandon its intentions to completely take over Donetsk region."

"To do so, it focuses its main efforts on offensive operations on Bakhmut direction. Heavy battles for Soledar continue," the military said.

Ukrainian forces recaptured Lyman at the end of September.

On Friday, Russia said its forces had taken Soledar following weeks of fierce fighting, but Ukraine has denied the claim.

The General Staff also said Russian units in parts of Donetsk were below strength because of recent casualties.

"The manning level of certain units of the 3rd separate motorized rifle brigade of the 1st army corps located in the vicinity of Horlivka (Donetsk region) remains low, up to 40 percent," it alleged.

In the south, according to the General Staff, the Russians are trying to strengthen their defense capabilities on the east bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson.

"The movement of personnel, weapons, military equipment, and ammunition is reported," the military said.

The number of people injured in a deadly Russian missile strike that hit an apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday has risen to almost 60, according to an official.

Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said 12 children are among the injured. The rescue operation at the site Dnipro continues.

At least five have been killed in the strike, Reznichenko said earlier.

The CEO of the Ukrainian state power company Ukrenergo says the country's power system suffered twelve waves of missile strikes Saturday.

"Unfortunately, energy facilities in 5 regions were hit," Volodymyr Kudrytskyi wrote on Facebook. "Power engineers are already working on the restoration."

Kudrytskyi said power plants and substations of Ukrenergo had been hit, but the "controllability and integrity of the power system was preserved."

"Coordinated work of the military and power engineers does not allow the enemy to achieve their main goal - to plunge the whole country into cold and darkness," the power CEO said.

About two-thirds of the Russian missiles fired at Ukraine on Saturday were intercepted, according to the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Defense forces destroyed 18 cruise missiles and three guided aircraft missiles, he said.

Zaluzhnyi said that early Saturday morning, the capital of Kyiv was attacked by anti-aircraft guided missiles from the north. Such weapons — S-300s — have rarely been used against Kyiv. 

He said Russians forces later used a mix of air-launched cruise missiles, sea-launched cruise missiles and guided missiles fired from aircraft to target the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. 

Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, earlier said air defenses saved "the lives of thousands of people."

The wave of Russian missile attacks Saturday was the first in two weeks.

Damage to power infrastructure from a wave of Russian missile strikes has led to emergency power outages in most regions across Ukraine, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.

"The next days will be difficult. Power engineers are already working to restore electricity supply," the energy minister continued.

Saturday's wave of missile attacks follows a relative lull that had allowed Ukrainian power companies to reduce the power deficit caused by damage to transformers and substations.

A top Ukrainian government official said "fierce battles" for the town of Soledar continue Saturday. 

Russian forces appear to be in control of most of the town, with Ukrainian units on its northwestern fringes.

Some background: Soledar is a small town in eastern Ukraine with symbolic, if not especially strategic, value to Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces, who have gone months without a notable victory.

Russia said Friday its forces had taken the town, though Ukraine has denied the claim.

Earlier Saturday, the head of the Donetsk region military administration called the situation for Ukraine's military in Soledar "difficult but controlled."