KYIV—Russia launched missiles at Ukraine, killing at least one person, just one day after Kyiv received Western guarantees of dozens of modern war tanks to help fight back the Russian incursion.
The German and American declarations enraged Moscow.
As people went to work in Ukraine, air raid sirens went off. Crowds in the capital sought refuge for a spell at subterranean metro stations.
Officials in Kyiv reported a 55-year-old man was murdered and two others were injured. According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Russia has continued to attack energy assets, including power substations.
The Kremlin cited the planned delivery of Western tanks as evidence of the United States' and Europe's growing "direct engagement" in the 11-month-old conflict, which both deny.
DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy producer, announced pre-emptive emergency shutdowns in Kyiv, the surrounding region, and the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The United Nations recognized Odesa, a Black Sea port, as a "World Heritage in Danger" site on Wednesday. Russian missiles destroyed energy installations, according to officials, just as French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrived.
Colonna was scheduled to meet with Dmytro Kuleba, her Ukrainian colleague, to discuss humanitarian and military help.
Moscow and Kiev, who have hitherto depended on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, are both poised to launch new combat offensives in the spring.
Ukraine has requested hundreds of modern tanks in the goal of breaking through Russian defense lines and retaking control of areas in the south and east.
“The key now is speed and volumes. Speed in training our forces, speed in supplying tanks to Ukraine. The numbers in tank support,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Wednesday.
In keeping with Kyiv's drumbeat of requests, Zelenskyy stated that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and requested long-range missiles and planes.
Ukraine's allies have already supplied billions of dollars in military assistance, including advanced US missile systems.
The US was hesitant to deploy its difficult-to-maintain M1 Abrams tanks, but eventually offered 31 in order to persuade Germany to guarantee its more easily operated German-built Leopards.
Germany will deploy 14 tanks from its stockpile and will authorise supplies from friendly European states, with the eventual goal of arming two battalions—around 100 tanks.
It expects its Leopard tanks to be operational in three to four months, while Britain said on Thursday that the 14 Challenger tanks it is supplying to Ukraine will arrive in two months.
Analysts say Ukrainian commanders may already be less careful in deploying their existing tanks because replacements are on the way.
