Kyiv has been hit by what Ukraine’s air force described as the largest Russian drone attack of the war so far.
At least five people were injured after Iranian-made kamikaze Shahed drones descended on the capital overnight.
Explosions were heard as the aircraft were intercepted, with buildings damaged across multiple districts.
Writing on Telegram, mayor Vitali Klitschko said apartment blocks and a nursery were hit.
An 11-year-old girl was among the injured, he added.
‘Wilful terror’
Away from Kyiv, the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions were also targeted.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strikes, which came ahead of Ukraine’s annual memorial day for victims of the 1932 Holodomor famine, as an act of “wilful terror”.
“The Russian leadership is proud of the fact that it can kill,” he wrote on Telegram.
He said more than 70 drones were involved in the attack, most of which were shot down.
Russia’s winter bombardment
It comes days after Russia launched consecutive nights of drone attacks on Kyiv for the first time in weeks.
Those also used Shahed drones.
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How Ukraine shoots down Russia’s drones
The attacks bear similarities to 12 months ago, when – six months after troops retreated from around Kyiv – Russia began targeting Ukraine’s energy, military, and transport infrastructure.
Millions were left without energy and heating during the coldest months of the year.
Russia is repeating last winter’s strategy – but with tweaked tactics
Although drones are relatively slow with small warheads, those that get through aid defences still cause significant damage, and even those shot down cause harm with falling debris.
Russia has used the Iranian-supplied Shahed 136 drones throughout the war, but Ukraine has become more adept at shooting them out of the skies.
However, on this occasion it appears that Russia has changed its tactics to attempt to swamp Ukraine’s air defences with a mass drone attack.
Although many drones will have been shot down, quantity has a quality all of its own, and some will have got through.
Russia may also be responding to Ukraine’s appeal to the West for a resupply of their air defence systems – if Russia believes Ukraine might be vulnerable, it would ramp up attacks to further denude Ukrainian air defence capability.
The attacks follow a similar pattern to last year when Russia targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in advance of the cold winter.
Although this did not impact progress on the frontline, it will be a measure designed to erode Ukrainian public morale and undermine support for the war effort.
However, Ukrainian morale and resolve appeared unaffected by last year’s attacks, so it remains to be seen whether a repeat of the Russian strategy bears fruit this year.
The latest attack has left almost 200 buildings without power, Ukraine’s energy ministry said.
Mr Zelenskyy had warned civilians to expect another winter bombardment from Moscow this year.
In a nightly address last weekend, he said: “The closer we are to winter, the more Russians will try to make the strikes more powerful.”
The state of the war in Ukraine on day 638
