Russia smashes Ukraine with massive missile attack knocking out power network

Russia launched 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale attack across Ukraine overnight, targeting the country’s energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Mr Zelensky said Russia had used various types of drones including Shaheds, plus cruise, ballistic and aero ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian defence forces shot down 140 air targets, he said in a statement on Telegram.

“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris.

“In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children.”

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration Serhii Popko.

Russian strikes have hammered Ukraine’s power generation capacity since Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, prompting repeated emergency power shutdowns and nationwide rolling blackouts.

These attacks, often carried out using missiles and drones, have aimed to disrupt energy provision, leaving millions of civilians without electricity, heating, and water during harsh winters.

The strikes, viewed as part of Russia’s broader strategy to weaken Ukrainian resistance and morale, have drawn international condemnation for their devastating humanitarian impact and their deliberate targeting of non-military facilities, which may constitute violations of international law.

Ukrainian officials have routinely urged Western allies to bolster the country’s air defences to counter assaults and allow for repairs.

Explosions were heard across Ukraine on Sunday, including the capital, Kyiv, the key southern port of Odesa, as well as the country’s west and central regions, according to local reports.

The operational command of Poland’s armed forces wrote on X that Polish and allied aircraft, including fighter jets, have been mobilised in Polish airspace because of the “massive” Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine.

The steps were aimed to provide safety in Poland’s border areas, it said. One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in Kyiv’s historic center, according to Popko, who heads the city’s military administration.

At least two people were killed and six were wounded, including two children, in the eastern city of Mykolaiv, according to local Governor Vitalii Kim.

A thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK was “seriously damaged” the company said in a statement on Telegram.

Also posting on Telegram, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and himself a former Russian President and Prime Minister, gloated: “In the context of the ongoing conflict with Russia, Ukraine will face the same fate as those infrastructure facilities that were subjected to a massive Russian attack this morning.”

Posting on X, Ukrainian blogger Special Kherson Cat, using the handle @bayraktar_1love, shared an unverified video video they said showed a Ukrainian F-16 jet being deployed.

They commented: “Today, after more than two months of pause, Russians again launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. Most of the missiles were aimed at the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.

“It is also said that aviation, including the F-16, played an important role in repelling the Russian missile attack.”