At least five people were killed in a mass Russian missile and drone attack overnight on Ukraine, with infrastructure damaged across numerous regions.
Four deaths were reported in the western region of Lviv bordering Poland, where an industrial park in the regional capital was also set ablaze and parts of the city were left without power.
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi urged residents to stay inside as authorities battled multiple fires.
In southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, one person was killed and nine others wounded in a combined attack that also left more than 73,000 customers without power, said governor Ivan Fedorov.
Civilian infrastructure was also damaged in the regions of Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and Odesa, Said Prime Minister Yulia SVYYRIry.
“Another deliberate act of terror against civilians,” she wrote on X. “Moscow continues to strike homes, schools, and energy facilities – proving that destruction remains its only strategy.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had fired more than 50 missiles and nearly 500 drones.
Russia, which has not yet commented on the attack, has stepped up strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid in recent weeks as the fourth winter of war approaches.
NATO member Poland said it scrambled aircraft early this morning to ensure its air safety.
“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,” Poland’s operational command said in a post on X.
Eastern-flank NATO members are on high alert after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace in September and drone sightings and air incursions, including in Copenhagen and Munich, have led to chaos in European aviation.
Lithuania’s airport in Vilnius was closed for several hours overnight after reports of a possible series of balloons heading towards the airport late last night.
