Russia launched a deadly, large-scale missile and drone bombardment against towns and cities across Ukraine early on Sunday. Authorities confirmed the attacks were primarily aimed at crippling the nation’s vital energy grid.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that over 500 Russian attack drones and 50 missiles were deployed overnight, with drone activity persisting throughout Sunday morning and early afternoon.
Tragically, at least five people were killed and many more sustained injuries, with President Zelensky warning that the number of casualties is expected to rise.
In a statement, Zelensky condemned the aggression: “Today, the Russians once again targeted our infrastructure — everything that ensures normal life for our people. We need more protection and faster implementation of all defense agreements, especially on air defense, to deprive this aerial terror of any meaning.”
A significant portion of the overnight barrage concentrated on Lviv in western Ukraine. Local authorities confirmed that four individuals died when a strike directly hit a house in a village on the city’s outskirts.
As smoke ascended over Lviv’s historic downtown, numerous residents in the region found themselves without electricity. Emergency crews swiftly moved to repair the damage. This dire scene was replicated across the vast expanse of the country, with strikes reported in many other areas, including Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Kirovohrad.
The Ministry of Energy issued a statement highlighting that many recent attacks have specifically targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, resulting in extensive power outages. This pattern is consistent with tactics Russia has employed every winter since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, at least one person was killed and 73,000 residents were left without power following local strikes reported on Sunday.
The energy ministry reassured the public that “Emergency repair and restoration work is ongoing to restore electricity as quickly as possible.”
Anastasia Kuznietsova contributed to this report.