'Birthday gift to Putin': Russia launches massive strikes on Ukraine; energy sites hit

Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces carried out a “massive strike” on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions using high-precision weapons and drones.The ministry said the strikes involved land-, sea- and air-launched weapons as well as drones. It said targets included facilities operated by Fire Point in Kyiv, where Flamingo cruise missiles and medium- and long-range drones are allegedly manufactured and stored.According to the ministry, strikes also hit military-industrial sites in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv regions, according to Reuters. Eleven killed in attackAround 70 missiles along with drones were fired targeting the country’s energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, Reuters reported.At least 11 people were killed in the strikes across Ukraine. He described energy infrastructure as one of the main targets, accusing Russia of seeking to inflict heavy damage and send a message through the attack.“One of the key targets was our energy infrastructure. The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” Zelenskiy said in a post on Telegram.He said Russian ballistic missiles remained Ukraine’s “greatest challenge” and called for additional air defence systems, saying they were a “vital necessity” for the country.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.