The barrage began around midnight and continued beyond daybreak in what appeared to be Moscow’s biggest attack against Ukraine in weeks.
Russia unleashed a massive missile attack against Ukraine on Monday morning, striking 15 Ukrainian regions, or more than half of the country.
At least three people were killed — one in the western city of Lutsk, one in the central Dnipropetrovsk region and one in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast — and some 13 wounded.
The attack used drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic ballistic Kinzhal missiles, resulting in power outages all across Ukraine.
Explosions also rang in Kyiv and disrupted power and water supplies, and the damage extended to several other Ukrainian regions, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Emergency blackouts to stabilise power grid
Incidents were reported from the region of Sumy, a Russia-bordering province in the east, to the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions in the south and the region of Rivne in the west.
Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, operated emergency blackouts to stabilise the system, saying that “energy workers throughout the country work 24/7 to restore light”.
In Sumy, local officials said that 194 settlements experienced a full power blackout, while 19 others had a partial blackout.
Ukrainian officials have been ordered to open “points of invincibility” — types of shelter where people can charge their devices and get refreshments during energy blackouts.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Poland activated its and NATO’s air defences in the eastern part of the country.
Ukraine, which has unleashed its own powerful offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, reportedly injured four people during an overnight and Monday morning drone attack in the Saratov region.
Russia’s defence ministry said that a total of 22 Ukrainian drones were intercepted. Euronews could not independently confirm these claims.
Kyiv calls on allies to provide long-range weapons
Ukraine has once again renewed appeals to the allies to receive long-range weapons so that it can hit Russian territory more effectively.
“In order to stop the barbaric shelling of Ukrainian cities, it is necessary to destroy the place from which the Russian missiles are launched,” Shmyhal said on Monday.
“We count on the support of our allies and will definitely make Russia pay,” he added.
The exchange of fire comes only days after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv.
Modi offered himself up “as a friend” in trying to bring about a peaceful resolution of the conflict, against the backdrop of reportedly close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders discussed a potential “peace formula,” which would prioritise territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We say it very loudly and clearly that we support the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Modi said. “It’s our highest priority.”