Russia launches one of the fiercest missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure

kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine on Sunday, described by officials as the largest in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians.

The attack comes as fears grow over Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity as the cold winter approaches.

In this photo provided by Ukrainian emergency services, emergency service personnel work to put out a fire following a Russian rocket attack in the Poltava region of Ukraine, Sunday, November 17, 2024.(Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale attack across Ukraine. Different types of drones have been deployed, he said, including Iranian-made Shaheds as well as cruise, ballistic and air-launched missiles.

Ukrainian defenses shot down 140 aerial targets, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, objects are damaged by blows and falling debris. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others injured, including two children,” Zelensky said.

Two other people were killed in the Odessa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted electricity and water supplies, local governor Oleh Kiper said.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of the kyiv city military administration, Serhii Popko.

Russian strikes have battered Ukraine’s power infrastructure since Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, causing repeated emergency power outages and widespread nationwide blackouts. Ukrainian officials have regularly urged their Western allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses to counter assaults and enable repairs.

Explosions were heard across Ukraine on Sunday, including in the capital kyiv, the key southern port of Odessa, as well as in the country’s western and central regions, according to local reports.

The operational command of the Polish Armed Forces wrote on These measures aim to ensure security in Poland’s border areas, the statement said.

One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in the historic center of kyiv, according to Popko.

A thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK was “severely damaged”, the company said.

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