Russia launched a “massive” attack with missiles and drones targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine during the night of Monday, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least four people and causing power outages in several cities.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as “one of the largest” in over two and a half years of war, according to CNN. “More than 100 missiles of various types and around 100 Shahed drones” were used in the strikes, Zelensky said.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that dozens of missiles and drones targeted nearly all regions of the country, from the eastern frontline regions of Kharkiv and Dnipro to the southern port city of Odesa and the capital, Kyiv.
“Russian terrorists have once again targeted the energy infrastructure,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Telegram on Monday.
At least 15 regions were hit by a combination of drones and missiles, Shmyhal said.
The national energy company of Ukraine, Ukrenergo, was forced to implement emergency power outages to stabilize the system, Shmyhal added.
Power outages have been recorded in several cities, including Kyiv and Dnipro, according to Serhii Kovalenko, CEO of the energy company Yasno.
Ukraine had been preparing for a major Russian attack for weeks, following Kyiv’s startling incursion into the Kursk border region – the first foreign invasion of Russia since World War II.
Ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv had warned of an increasing risk of Russian drone and missile attacks.
The overnight attack came a few hours after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Belarus to withdraw what it described as a “significant” buildup of Belarusian forces and equipment at their shared border.
Kyiv also reported that former Wagner mercenaries were among the troops at the border and urged Minsk “not to make tragic mistakes for their country under Moscow’s pressure.”
