Video Shows Fireball Erupt After Missile Strikes Ukraine Energy Facility

A jarring video taken by a Ukrainian motorist shows the harsh reality of living in the war-torn country amid frequent Russian missile strikes.

Russia has recently ramped up its missile attacks on Ukraine as the war approaches its ninth month and winter approaches. On Thursday, state-owned Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz said the Russian strikes have destroyed several gas production facilities in Dnipro, a city along the Dnipro River's western edge, roughly 200 miles northeast of Kherson, according to The Moscow Times. Russian forces retreated from that southern city last week.

One Ukrainian driving to work witnessed a missile strike and caught it on video. The clip shows the front windshield as the driver is listening to the radio. Seconds into the video, a fireball erupts in front of the driver, who quickly pulls over to the side of the street. The camera shakes from the force of the blast, which also blows leaves off the nearby trees. The driver then turns down a road and continues to work.

Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko tweeted the video Thursday morning.

"This is a Russian missile attack on the city of Dnipro. This is what almost every morning of Ukrainians looks like, starting from February 24. We go to work and we don't know if we will return from there or if a rocket will hit the road where we are going."

Ukraine began experiencing blackouts Thursday morning, but Russia is blaming them on Kyiv's refusal to negotiate and not as a result of missile strikes by its forces, according to The Moscow Times, an independent online newspaper.

Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said in a statement that several of the company's gas production facilities were destroyed and that others have suffered damage from the strikes. Russian politicians have previously spoken of a strategy to target Ukraine's energy sources ahead of the winter months.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also blamed the blackouts on Russian missile strikes against energy facilities across Ukraine, such as the Southern Machine-Building Plant in Dnipro. Shmyhal said the Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant, Ukraine's largest aerospace manufacturer, was hit, according to a tweet by The Kyiv Independent, an online newspaper.

The reported missile attack targeted an industrial enterprise and damaged nearby residential buildings, according to a tweet from the Independent. Other tweets by the Independent said attacks came from 18 missiles and six drones launched by Russia on Thursday.

"The enemy continues terror tactics against civilians by firing missile strikes at civilian and energy infrastructure objects of Ukrainian cities," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on its Facebook page on Thursday morning.

Damage is still being assessed. The Kyiv Independent tweeted that 14 people in Dnipro were injured during the blasts.