Russia launches wave of missile, drone attacks: Ukrainian officials

Ukrainian officials said Thursday that Russia launched a wave of missile and self-exploding drone attacks on the country.

Air raid sirens wailed nationwide. There were no immediate reports of the targets, but Kyiv's mayor said a Russian missile strike killed one person, the first death from an attack in the capital since New Year's Eve. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two other people were injured in the strike..

The head of the Kyiv city administration said 15 cruise missiles were shot down. Serhii Popko said the missiles were fired in the direction of Kyiv but did not clarify if the capital itself was a target.

Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko reported that several facilities of energy infrastructure were damaged not just in the Odesa region, but other regions of Ukraine. That caused significant problems with electricity supply. Earlier Vinnytsia regional governor reported about strikes in his region.

The attacks came after Germany and the United States announced Wednesday that they will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, offering what one expert called an armored punching force to help Kyiv break combat stalemates as the Russian invasion enters its 12th month.

Training for Ukrainian troops to use advanced Western-supplied tanks will begin within days, Germany's defense minister said Thursday..

Boris Pistorius said Ukrainian crews will start learning how to operate the German-made Leopard 2 tank at a training site in Germany by the end of January. Pistorius said he expects the tanks themselves to arrive in Ukraine before the end of March.