Russia strikes Ukrainian energy infrastructure in massive missile and drone attack

At least three people killed during Moscow's largest aerial assault in several weeks

Rescuers try to extinguish a fire in Ukraine's Odesa region after a Russian drone and missile attack on Sunday. AFP

Russia has unleashed the largest missile and drone barrage against Ukraine in several weeks, starting at about midnight local time on Monday.

The Ukrainian air force said several groups of Russian drones moved towards the country's eastern, northern, southern and central regions, followed by cruise and ballistic missiles, with energy infrastructure appearing to be the target of the attacks.

After the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged European air forces to help bring down drones and missiles over Ukraine.

“In our various regions of Ukraine, we could do much more to protect lives if the aviation of our European neighbours worked together with our F-16s and together with our air defence,” he said in a post on social media.

Earlier Ukraine's top presidential aide Andriy Yermak called on Kyiv's allies to allow the country to launch long-range attacks on Russia using western-supplied weapons.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, with the capital's power and water supplies disrupted by the attack, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Kyiv now plans to open “points of invincibility” – safe shelters where people can get their mobile phones charged and receive refreshments – that were first set up about two years ago.

One person was reportedly killed in the western city of Lutsk and another in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where the attack sparked numerous fires.

A person was killed in the partially occupied south-eastern region of Zaporizhzhia, where an infrastructure complex was hit and caught fire, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.

Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook that the situation was “difficult” and the “consequences of the attack are being assessed”.

On Saturday, a British safety adviser was killed while two journalists he was working with were wounded in a missile attack on a hotel in eastern Ukraine.

Former British solider Ryan Evans, 38, was working for the Reuters news agency and had been staying at the Hotel Sapphire in Kramatorsk, together with the reporting crew.

“We send our deepest condolences and thoughts to Ryan's family and loved ones,” Reuters said. “Ryan has helped so many of our journalists cover events around the world; we will miss him terribly.”

Attack on Russia

Meanwhile, Russian officials in the central region of Saratov, which lies about 900km from the border with Ukraine, reported a drone attack overnight and on Monday morning.

Ukrainian drones hit residential buildings in the cities of Saratov and Engels, and four people were wounded, a local official said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said 22 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight and in the early hours of Monday morning over eight Russian regions.