Airstrikes Five dead in wave of missile and drone attacks

A huge missile and drone attack launched by Russia across Ukrainian territory has left at least five people dead, officials have said.

- Shaun Walker , Pjotr Sauer

Power cuts and water outages were reported in numerous parts of the country including in some districts of the capital, Kyiv, as a result of the strikes, which targeted mainly civilian energy infrastructure.

In a video address on Telegram, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, described the attack early yesterday as "one of the biggest combined strikes" on Ukraine over the course of the war. "And like most previous Russian strikes, this one is just as base, targeting critical civilian infrastructure," he said.

The commander of the Ukrainian air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said Russia launched 127 missiles, of which 102 were intercepted, and 109 drones.

In central Kyiv, air defences were audible during the morning rushhour, forcing many people to shelter in underground metro stations. In the western city of Lutsk, a block of flats was damaged and there were reports of fatalities in five regions.