Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine on Sunday, which officials said was the largest in months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians.
The attack comes amid growing concerns about the Russian government's intentions to destroy Ukraine's power generation capacity ahead of the cold winter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones across Ukraine in a major attack. He said that in addition to the Iranian-made Shahed, various types of unmanned aircraft were deployed, including cruise ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles, and air-launched ballistic missiles.
President Zelenskiy said in a statement to Telegram that the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down 140 air targets.
“The enemy's targets were energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage from debris from collisions with objects and falling objects. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others, including two children, were killed. He was injured,” Zelenskiy said.
The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022, Ukraine's electricity infrastructure has been severely damaged by Russian attacks, resulting in repeated emergency power outages and nationwide rolling blackouts.
Ukrainian officials have regularly urged Western allies to strengthen their air defenses to counter attacks and enable repairs.
According to local reports, explosions were heard Sunday across Ukraine, including the capital Kiev, the main southern port Odesa, and the western and central regions.
The Polish military's operational command wrote in X that Polish and allied aircraft, including fighter jets, were in Polish airspace due to Russia's “massive” attack on neighboring Ukraine. The measure was aimed at ensuring security in Poland's border areas, the newspaper said.
One person was injured when the roof of a five-story house burst into flames in Kiev's historic center, said Popko, head of the city's military administration.
At least two people were killed and six others, including two children, were injured in the eastern city of Mykolaiv, local governor Vitaly Kim said.
The thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK “suffered severe damage,” the company said in a statement to Telegram.
