Ukraine imposes virus lockdown that many say came too late

Ukraine on Friday imposed a broad lockdown aimed at containing surging coronavirus infections, but some cities appeared to be largely ignoring the restrictions and critics said the move was worrisomely tardy.

The government had made plans for the lockdown in December, when 12,000-14,000 new infections were being recorded daily in the country of 42 million.

But the measures, which include closing schools, entertainment venues, gyms and restaurant table service, weren’t implemented until after the holiday period; predominantly Orthodox Ukraine observed Christmas on Thursday, when AP journalists saw maskless worshipers crowding some churches.

A pigeon at a closed street market in Ivano-Frankivsk, Western Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Ukraine imposes a wide-ranging lockdown beginning Friday, closing schools and entertainment venues and restaurant table service through Jan. 25. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said the restrictions would help reduce the burden on the health care system, weakened by the reform and the shortage of doctors.

But others say the moves were late.

“For two weeks people hugged, kissed, went to church and to the Christmas tree, sat at the same festive table. The government decided to close its eyes to this and not to anger the people (during) the holidays, but we, doctors, will have to pay for this," said Dmitry Golovchenko, a 47-year-old doctor.

A woman wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus walks past a closed shop in Ivano-Frankivsk, Western Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Ukraine imposed a wide-ranging lockdown beginning Friday, closing schools and entertainment venues and restaurant table service through Jan. 25. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Some regions were skeptical of the lockdown; the mayors of Ternopil and Cherkasy — each with a population of more than 200,000 — said their cities will not comply.

In the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, streets were crowded on Friday and about one in two shops was open for business.

A 66-year-old pensioner, Yaroslava Kovalenko, said she thought the government should have ordered sterner measures like the spring lockdown.

“Close everything for three weeks as they did in March. No transport, nothing,” she said. “Now, look, half of the shops are open. This lockdown is for nothing. Transport is working, people are walking.”

Although new recorded infections have dropped since December, Ukraine’s underfunded health system is under severe pressure. The country overall has recorded more than 1.1 million confirmed infections and nearly 20,000 deaths.

Despite the criticism, Ukrainian officials defend the lockdown, which is to end Jan. 25.

“(It) will help avoid a large increase in the number of patients with both COVID-19 and regular seasonal flu,” said Stepanov, the health minister. “This way we will reduce the burden on hospitals.”

“We are knocking down the wave of growth in the number of patients after the New Year holidays,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

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Mstyslav Chernov in Ivano-Frankivsk and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this story.

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)