Russia ramps up missile attacks on Ukraine after airfields hit

Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Russia slammed Ukraine with another barrage of missiles Monday night into Tuesday, hitting electrical plants and other civilian infrastructure facilities as another explosion hit a Russian airfield.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country started conducting emergency power shutdowns to stabilize the power grid. He said in the Kyiv region alone, half of the territory remained without power.

Officials in the city of Zaporizhzhia, close to where a critical nuclear power plant is located, said missiles hit critical infrastructure near its borders.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have actually attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, calling it "nuclear terrorism."

"In the last two weeks alone, 33 large-caliber projectiles have been fired at the [nuclear power] station by the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Shoigu said.

The continued infrastructure attack comes as snow and sub-zero temperatures are recorded in many regions of Ukraine, affecting millions without electricity and running water. Some experts fear that numerous people could die of hypothermia.

Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration head Valentyn Reznichenko said Russian strikes hit gas pipelines, power lines and more than 10 homes in the district of Nikopol. He said more than 9,000 families were also left without water near the community of Chervonohryhorivka after the attacks.

The governor of Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, claimed there was a drone attack near a local airbase there. Kyiv has not commented on the attack.

This comes the day after reports of attacks on two separate air bases deep inside Russia. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the attacks that left three people dead in one of the incidents and several people were injured in both.