Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday accused Russia of launching one of the most intense aerial bombardments in months, firing more than 550 munitions overnight in a coordinated wave of missiles and drones that left at least five dead and 10 wounded across the country.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the Kremlin deployed around 500 Iranian-made strike drones and 50 long-range missiles in the assault, which targeted critical infrastructure and civilian areas from western Lviv to the southern Zaporizhzhia frontline.
“Today the Russians again struck our infrastructure, everything that ensures a normal life for people,” Zelenskyy wrote. “More protection is needed, faster implementation of all defense agreements, especially regarding air defense, to make this aerial terror meaningless.”
Zelenskyy called for urgent Western intervention, urging the U.S. and Europe to act swiftly to stop the ongoing strikes.
“A unilateral ceasefire in the sky is possible, and it could open the way to real diplomacy,” he added, warning that continued delays in bolstering air defenses would prolong Russia’s air campaign.
The Lviv region, near the Polish border, bore the brunt of the attacks. At least four people were killed and four more injured, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS). Mayor Andriy Sadovyi described it as “a very tough night,” confirming that an industrial park west of the city center was among the targets.
“Russians terrorized the region for over five hours with combined strikes,” the DSNS reported.
Strikes were also confirmed in Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Odesa, and Kirovohrad, impacting both civilian housing and vital energy infrastructure.
In the embattled Zaporizhzhia region, at least one person was killed and 10 others injured, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said. Strikes there damaged gas pipelines, residential homes, and knocked out electricity to more than 73,000 residents.
Elsewhere, a critical infrastructure site was hit in Chernihiv, near the Belarusian and Russian borders northeast of Kyiv.
The Russian Defense Ministry later confirmed the attack, calling it a “massive strike using precision-guided weapons launched from land, sea, and air platforms.” According to the ministry, the assault targeted facilities in Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and the gas and energy infrastructure that supports it.
Among the weapons used were Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones, Russia said. “All designated targets have been struck,” the ministry declared in a Telegram post.
The cross-border barrage prompted NATO fighter jets in neighboring Poland to scramble in response, as concerns continue to mount about the proximity of Russian munitions to alliance airspace.
The overnight strikes mark a significant escalation in Moscow’s aerial campaign, as both sides remain locked in a war of attrition nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Western officials have repeatedly warned that Russia’s missile and drone stockpiles remain sufficient for prolonged attacks, even as Ukraine pleads for faster delivery of air-defense systems.
With Ukraine’s power grid already vulnerable heading into winter, officials say further infrastructure strikes could plunge millions into energy blackouts and humanitarian crises.
