1 dead, thousands without heat after Russian strike on Ukraine port city

Kyiv, Ukraine — 

A monolithic Russian onslaught that acceptable apartments alight and knocked retired heating to thousands successful Ukraine's confederate larboard metropolis Odesa killed 1 idiosyncratic and wounded 10 others, authorities said Friday.

The Thursday nighttime strikes connected the Black Sea metropolis damaged residential buildings, the heating system, churches and acquisition institutions, according to Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, who said it had been "a monolithic combined force strike."

Trukhanov said aboriginal Friday that a 35-year-old pistillate sleeping adjacent a model astatine the clip of the onslaught had died.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed 1 decease and said different 10 radical were wounded, including 2 children.

Fires broke retired successful respective places but were rapidly extinguished, portion the main heating pipeline was damaged, leaving tens of thousands successful the acold arsenic nightly temperatures plunge to freezing.

"More than 40,000 radical (as good as) aesculapian and societal institutions are without heating," Trukhanov wrote connected Telegram. "Generators and heaters are moving successful aesculapian institutions."

The mayor's bureau said blistery drinks and blankets were being distributed portion the pipeline was repaired.

After fleeing during the aerial raid siren, Odesa nonmigratory Oleksandra said she saw pictures of her damaged home.

"When everything happened, we were hiding successful a shelter. We saw that this was our location successful the photos from the section channels," she told nationalist broadcaster Suspilne Odesa.

Russia has precocious stepped-up aerial attacks connected confederate Ukraine, damaging civilian vessels and larboard facilities successful the Odesa region, portion Kyiv has intensified its attacks connected Russian subject and vigor targets.

Early Friday morning, Ukraine's aerial unit reported six Tu-95 bombers -- which are susceptible of carrying cruise missiles -- heading southeast from a basal successful Russia.

Moscow's Ministry of Defense meantime announced it had intercepted 51 Ukrainian drones overnight, thwarting an onslaught that had targeted coastal regions, including implicit Crimea and the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine is bracing for its toughest wintertime of warfare yet, with Moscow having destroyed swathes of its generating capableness and continuing to onslaught vigor sites.

In erstwhile winters, millions of Ukrainians endured regular blackouts and mislaid heating successful sub-zero conditions.

Ukrainian forces are losing crushed successful the eastbound and concerns are mounting successful Kyiv implicit the aboriginal of overseas subject assistance aft the triumph of Donald Trump successful the United States statesmanlike election.

Kyiv has for months been appealing to its Western allies to supply much air-defense systems to fend disconnected Russian attacks connected cities and captious infrastructure.