Russia launched about 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight on Monday, in what appeared to be the biggest attack on the country in weeks.
At least five people have been killed and dozens injured due to the strikes, which caused significant damage to Ukraine‘s energy sector in at least 15 different regions – more than half the country.
Responding to the barrage of drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic ballistic Kinzhal missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was “vile” and claimed the attack had targeted civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal added there was damage in a number of regions and that Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, has been forced to implement emergency power cuts to stabilise the system.
Mr Shmyhal was one of a group of top Kyiv officials who urged Western allies and arms suppliers to allow long-range strikes into Russia, while Mr Zelenskyy redoubled his call on allies such as Poland to join Ukraine in shooting down missiles and drones over Ukrainian airspace.
The Ukrainian regions that reported damage included Rivne and Volyn in the northwest, Khmelnytsk in the southwest, Zhytomyr in the north, Lviv in the west, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the southeast and Odesa in the south.
Explosions were also heard in the capital.
A 69-year-old man in the Dnipropetrovsk region and a man in the Zaporizhzhia region are among the dead, local officials said. The others were in the regions of Kharkiv, Zhytomyr and Volyn.
Regional officials said “points of invincibility” – places of shelter where people could charge their devices and get refreshments – had opened up across the country during energy blackouts.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Poland, the military said a drone had most likely entered its airspace and was being monitored by Polish and NATO air defences.
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The Kremlin said on Monday that it had used high precision weapons to strike energy infrastructure vital to Ukraine’s war effort.
It also said any prospect of ceasefire talks with Kyiv had “lost its relevance” and warned of further response to the incursion into Kursk.