Star Metro - Russian strikes kill five in Ukraine, cause power outages

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as the weather chills.

"This Sunday night, Russia launched yet another barrage of missiles and drones against the people of Ukraine, targeting the Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernigiv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

Lviv has been the area that the Russian military has targeted the most since Moscow launched its full-scale offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

"In Lviv, four people were killed and four others injured. In Zaporizhzhia, one person was killed and 10 injured after Russia targeted residential areas with drones and aerial bombs. Across all affected areas, residential buildings and critical infrastructure were damaged."

Ivan Fedorov, the head of the Zaporizhzhia region, earlier said a 16-year-old girl was among those receiving "necessary assistance" from medical personnel after the attack.

There were widespread power outages in the city as energy equipment was damaged, the service provider said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the overnight attack saw over 50 missiles and about 500 attack drones fired at his country.

"The Russians once again targeted our infrastructure -– everything that ensures normal life for our people. We need more protection and faster implementation of all defence agreements, especially on air defence, to deprive this aerial terror of any meaning," he said Sunday.

A nationwide air alert was in place across Ukraine as of 4:09 am (0109 GMT).

Poland's armed forces meanwhile said on X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country's airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.

The mayor of Lviv, a western Ukrainian city near the border with Poland, said public transport routes were not operating due to a "massive enemy attack".

Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, another western city, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday, its mayor said.

Fedorov said on Sunday that Russia's overnight attack left "more than 73,000 consumers... without electricity" in Zaporizhzhia, and the Lviv mayor said part of the city had no power.

This week, Moscow launched its largest-ever strike on Ukraine's gas infrastructure, while strikes on Saturday cut off power to around 50,000 households in the northern Chernigiv region.

A.Jackson--SMC