At least six people have died after Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and residential targets in Ukraine overnight.
A strike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro killed two people and wounded 12, while three died in Zaporizhzhia.
In all, 25 locations across Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv, were hit, leaving many areas without electricity and heating. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram that major energy facilities were damaged in the Poltava, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions, and work was under way to restore power.
In Russia, the defence ministry said its forces had shot down 79 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The Ukrainian air force stated that Russia launched more than 450 exploding bomber drones and 45 missiles, with nine missiles and 406 drones reportedly shot down.
The Ukrainian Energy Ministry noted that power cuts occurred in several regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa and Kirovohrad, but restoration work continues.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the intensification of Western sanctions against Russia in response to these attacks, stressing that there must be no exceptions to the sanctions aimed at the Russian energy sector.
The missile strikes, which occurred just hours after the US granted Hungary a one-year exemption from restrictions on buying oil and gas from Russia, showcase the ongoing strategic and humanitarian challenges faced by Ukraine.
