At least three people have been killed after Russia launched a major offensive into Ukraine, causing severe damage to electricity and water supplies.
Explosions were heard in several cities, including Kyiv, on Monday morning, as more than half of the country’s regions were hit.
Authorities in Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk and the central Dnipropetrovsk region all reported deaths in a massive air strike involving missiles and drones.
Ukraine’s prime minister said Russia had targeted its energy infrastructure, a long-standing tactic of Moscow’s forces.
The Ukrainian air force said on Telegram that a series of drone and missile attacks began across the country on Monday night and continued until the next morning.
Explosions were heard in cities from Lutsk in the west to Dnipro in the east as residents were urged to take shelter and the entire country was put on air raid alert.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said 15 regions had been targeted – attacks on energy infrastructure and using weapons including drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles.
“There are injuries and deaths,” Mr. Shmyhal said on the social media app Telegram.
A 69-year-old man was killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region, local governor Sergiy Lysak said, adding that several houses were damaged.
The governor said a man was killed when his house was hit by a bomb in Zaporizhzhia, while the mayor of Lutsk said a person was killed when an “infrastructure facility” was hit.
In the central Poltava region, five people were injured when an “industrial facility” was attacked, the governor said – urging residents to stay in shelters until bedtime.
The attacks caused severe damage to some infrastructure, with power outages reported in many cities – including Kyiv – and water supplies disrupted.
Energy company DTEK warned that an emergency power outage had been imposed, adding that its engineers were working to restore power supplies nationwide.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the beginning of its full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.
In recent months, the group has continued its campaign of attacks on the power grid, causing frequent blackouts across the country.
In June, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has destroyed half of the country’s power generation capacity since it began attacking energy facilities in late March.
Ukraine is buying energy from the European Union – but it’s not enough, so most days the country plans nationwide blackouts to protect vital needs like hospitals and military sites.
The Russian army has made slow but steady advances in the east in recent months.
Meanwhile, Ukraine recently launched a surprise offensive in Kursk in Russia, seen as an attempt to pull troops away from the eastern front. Experts say that effort has failed to materialize, with Moscow’s forces still widely involved in Ukraine.
On Monday, Ukraine attempted to attack an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, a city northeast of Moscow, according to the regional governor. No casualties or damage were reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it destroyed nine drones over the Saratov region, 560 miles (900km) from the Ukrainian border.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, has called on Ukraine’s allies to allow long-range strikes on Russia using weapons supplied by the West, in a message on Telegram.
