Russia’s missiles strike Ukraine a day after the West’s tanks move.

Russia launched a missile barrage on Ukraine on Thursday, a day after Germany and the United States pledged tanks to help Kyiv fight the invasion.

According to the mayor of Kyiv, one person died and two others were injured after strikes hit a building.

Officials also reported attacks on two energy facilities in Odesa’s southern region.

Russia described the tank offer as “direct” Western involvement in the conflict, prompting the barrage.

The Ukrainian army chief said Moscow launched 55 air and sea-based missiles on Thursday in a sustained and wide-ranging attack.

Valery Zaluzhny added that 47 of them were shot down, 20 of them near Kyiv.

Earlier, Ukraine’s air force claimed to have shot down a swarm of Iranian-made attack drones launched by Russian forces from the Sea of Azov in the country’s south.

According to officials, a 55-year-old man was killed and two others were injured when non-residential buildings in the capital’s south were struck.

The offensive was part of Russia’s months-long campaign to target Ukraine’s infrastructure. Thousands of people have been left in the dark as a result of the freezing winter.

Following the strikes on Thursday, emergency power cuts were implemented in Kyiv and several other regions to relieve pressure on the electricity grid, according to DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power producer.

Following weeks of international pressure, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks the day before. They are widely regarded as some of the most effective battle tanks on the market.

The heavy weapons are expected in late March or early April.

President Joe Biden later announced that the US would send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks, reversing long-held Pentagon claims that they are unsuitable for the Ukrainian battlefield.

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