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Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The death toll from Russia's missile attacks on a range of Ukrainian cities increased as Russian forces launched a barrage of missiles targeting the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early Tuesday. Over the past two weeks, at least 73 people have died and 200 others have been injured in missile strikes in and near Zaporizhzhia, officials said Tuesday.
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The Ukrainian military said it shot down many of the cruise missiles and drones fired by Russia on Tuesday.
An attack on the western city of Kyiv, which has seen little fighting to this point, left parts of the city without power, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.
Six people were injured in a second Russian strike at the Ladyzhyn thermal power plant (LTPP) in Ukraine's Vinnytsia region. It highlighted Moscow's effort to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure for the second straight day.
Ukraine's nuclear power company Energoatom said Valeriy Markynyuk, the deputy head of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, had been kidnapped by Russian forces.
The plant's director, Ihor Murashov, was released several days after being detained but did not return to his post. Russian forces launched a barrage of missiles targeting the Zaporizhzhia early Tuesday.
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said Russia launched 12 missiles early Tuesday, hitting public facilities and killing at least one person.
Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of Zaporizhzhia oblast, said on Telegram that the person was killed when two rockets hit a car dealership in the city. Rockets also hit a school, he said.
"The enemy continues to terrorize the civilians of Zaporizhzhia," he said.
Emine Dzheppar, first deputy minister of foreign affairs, added via Twitter that 15 explosions were registered in the city.
"Their targets were an educational institution, a medical institution and residential buildings," she said.
Officials said rescuers put out a fire that erupted as a result of the assault and which grew to a size of more than 1,000 square feet.
Tuesday's attack came a day after Russia conducted a wave of attacks across Ukraine, hitting civilian populated centers, including its capital, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia.
Anatolli Kurtieve, the acting mayor of Zaporizhzhia, said early Tuesday that its death toll from the attack had increased from two to five after three bodies were discovered under rubble.
"Racists understand that they are powerless on the battlefield, so they attack sleeping cities, destroy our homes and take the lives of civilians," Kurtieve said following Tuesday's attack. "We are dealing with terrorists who must be convicted and severely punished for their atrocities. Russia is a terrorist country."
Zaporizhzhia is one of four regions that Moscow has attempted to illegally annex from Ukraine, citing the results of referendum conducted in September, which democratic nations have disregarded as shams.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Office on Tuesday condemned the attacks from the previous day, stating that they may have violated international humanitarian law as they targeted critical civilian infrastructure.
The office also raised concerns over the targeting of key power stations and lines ahead of winter.
"We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from further escalation, and to take all feasible measure to prevent civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
