Russia has launched a massive attack in Ukraine, severely damaging some power and water systems and killing at least three people.
On Monday morning, explosions occurred in several cities, including Kiev, with more than half of the country under attack.
Authorities in Zaporozhye, Lutsk and central Dnipropetrovsk regions all reported deaths in the massive airstrikes using missiles and drones.
Ukraine’s prime minister says Russia has been targeting its energy infrastructure as part of a long-term strategy by Moscow’s military.
Drone and missile attacks began across the country on Monday night and continued into the morning, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram.
Explosions were heard in cities from Lutsk in the west to Dnipro in the east, people were urged to stay in shelters and the entire country was under air raid sirens.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said 15 regions were targeted in attacks targeting energy infrastructure, using weapons including drones, cruise missiles and supersonic missiles.
“There are injuries and deaths,” Shmihal said on the Telegram social media app.
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 houses in Zaporozhye were hit and one man was killed, while the mayor of Lutsk said “infrastructure” was hit and one person died.
Five people were injured in an attack on an “industrial facility” in the central region of Poltava, the governor said, while he urged people to stay in shelters until bedtime.
The attacks caused severe damage to some infrastructure, with many cities, including Kiev, reporting power outages and water supply disruptions.
Energy company DTEK warned that emergency power outages had been imposed, adding that its engineers were working to restore power across the country.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In recent months, it has launched another attack on the power grid, causing frequent blackouts across the country.
June, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has destroyed half of the country’s power generation capacity since it began cracking down on its energy facilities in late March.
Ukraine is buying energy from the EU – however, this is not enough, so the country is planning nationwide blackouts most of the time to protect critical needs such as hospitals and military sites.
Russian forces have been advancing slowly but steadily in the east in recent months.
Meanwhile, Ukraine recently launched a surprise offensive into Kursk, Russia, in what was seen as an attempt to withdraw troops from its eastern front. Experts say that effort has failed and Moscow’s forces remain widely active in Ukraine.
Ukraine attempted to attack an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, a city northeast of Moscow, on Monday, according to the regional governor. There have been no reports of casualties or property damage.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed nine drones in the Saratov region, 560 miles (900 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrei Yermak posted a message on Telegram calling on Ukraine’s allies to allow the use of Western-supplied weapons to launch long-range attacks against Russia.
