Watch: Russia Launches Massive Drone and Missile Assault on Ukraine

Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile assault across Ukraine on Monday, seemingly focused on attacking energy infrastructure. The strikes, which began around midnight and continued into the morning, marked one of Russia’s most significant attacks on Ukraine in weeks, resulting in the deaths of at least three people.

Ukraine’s air force reported that several groups of Russian drones were headed toward the country’s eastern, northern, southern, and central regions, followed by waves of cruise and ballistic missiles. Explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, where the attack disrupted power and water supplies, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

In response to the assault, Kyiv city officials announced the reopening of “points of invincibility”—designated shelters where residents can charge their devices and receive refreshments during power outages. These shelters were initially established in the fall of 2022 when Russia began targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with regular attacks.

In the western city of Lutsk, Mayor Ihor Polishchuk reported that a multistory residential building and an infrastructure site were hit, resulting in the death of one person. Another casualty occurred in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where the attack ignited multiple fires, damaged several homes, and completely destroyed two, according to regional head Serhii Lysak. Additionally, one person was pulled from the rubble in the aftermath.

In the southeastern, partially occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov confirmed that an infrastructure facility was struck and set ablaze, leading to the death of one person. Meanwhile, three people were injured in the southern Mykolaiv region, where regional head Vitalii Kim urged residents to utilize the “points of invincibility.”

In the Kyiv region, another person was injured when an attack damaged unspecified infrastructure and residential homes, as reported by regional head Ruslan Kravchenko.

Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, implemented emergency power outages, stating in an online message that energy workers across the country were working around the clock to restore electricity to Ukrainian homes.

In neighboring Poland, the military announced that Polish and NATO air defenses were activated in response to the attack in the eastern part of the country.

Meanwhile, in Russia, officials reported a Ukrainian drone strike overnight and into Monday morning. In Russia’s central Saratov region, drones hit residential buildings in two cities, injuring four people. One drone crashed into a high-rise building in the city of Saratov, while another struck a residential building in Engels, a city that hosts a military airfield previously targeted in attacks.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting a total of 22 Ukrainian drones overnight and in the morning across eight Russian regions, including the Saratov and Yaroslavl regions in central Russia.