[ad_1]
Strikes were reported in several large cities, from Odesa in the south, Dnieper in the east to Rivne in the west.
Two people were killed in a drone attack in Mykolaiv region, while six people, including two children, were injured.
Two others were killed in Odesa in an attack that also injured a 17-year-old boy, and a woman was killed in her car in the Lviv region, the governor said.
Night strikes have caused blackouts in several regions, including Odesa where heating, water and electricity supplies have been cut and hospitals are running on generator power.
Ukrainian energy company DTEK said its thermal power plants were attacked and equipment was “severely damaged”.
The war – now approaching its third year – has reached a tipping point for Ukraine, with Russia advancing on the front lines and Donald Trump retaking the White House, which could mean the end of vital US support.
Ukraine’s energy supplies have been repeatedly targeted by Russian attacks since their large-scale invasion in February 2022, causing continuous blackouts.
Bombings have intensified in recent months, leaving the country in a precarious position as the war enters its third winter.
“This is the real answer of the war criminal Putin to all those who called and visited him recently. We need peace through strength, not appeasement,” wrote Foreign Minister Andrii Sibyha on X.
Sibyha was likely referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s recent phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which lasted an hour and was a rare high-level conversation between a Western leader and Putin, who has been isolated by his invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the night the Russian attack launched approximately 120 missiles and 90 drones. Ukrainian defense forces destroyed over 140 air targets, he added.
All parts of Ukraine are targeted, including the western regions, he said.
“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure across Ukraine. Unfortunately, some facilities suffered damage from direct hits and falling debris,” Zelenskyy said on Sunday morning.
The Ukrainian leader added that some areas were left without electricity, which the authorities are working to restore.
In a post on X later Sunday, Zelenskyy stressed that “Russian terrorists are again trying to intimidate us with cold and blackouts, repeating their actions and trying to get results from them.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged the attack in a statement on Telegram on Sunday, saying Russia had launched a “massive” attack with “high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons and strike drones” targeting critical energy infrastructure.
German Scholz defended his phone conversation with the Russian leader on Sunday. Speaking to reporters, the chancellor described the call as “important” and “very detailed”, although she noted that “little has changed in the Russian president’s views on the war – and that is not good news”.
He said that it would not be good if one American administration was in regular contact with Putin, and no European leader was, referring to the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House.
The attack came overnight as Russia advances at key points along the eastern and southeastern Ukrainian fronts, closing in on key centers such as the city of Kurakhova.
On Saturday, Russia claimed to have captured two more eastern settlements in the Donetsk region, although there was no confirmation from Ukraine.
At the same time, Moscow is preparing to launch a counter-offensive in southern Russia’s Kursk region, the site of Kiev’s only major military success this year.
[ad_2]