Kiev, 17 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The Russian military launched a massive missile and drone attack across Ukraine, including Kiev and Odessa, authorities said on Sunday morning.

Two residential buildings in the Ukrainian capital caught fire, they said. Explosions were also reported in Zaporizhzhya, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Odessa.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that dozens of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were fired at targets across the country, including by strategic bombers. Before this, Russia reportedly deployed dozens of combat drones.

In several areas, power was switched off as a precautionary measure to prevent potential overload of the grid should energy facilities be hit.

Ukraine's energy minister, German Galushchenko, wrote on Facebook about a massive attack on Ukraine's energy system.

The Ukrainian armed forces face an enormous task in the coming days and weeks.

While a counteroffensive by Moscow is taking shape in the western Russian region of Kursk, partly occupied by Ukrainian troops, Ukrainian soldiers in the east near the edge of the Donbass region, are enduring further setbacks in the form of territorial losses.

According to western and Ukrainian military experts, Russia has already amassed nearly 50,000 soldiers for the counteroffensive at Kursk, including over 10,000 North Korean fighters.

The North Korean troops were recently further trained in Russia and equipped with Russian uniforms and weapons. At Kursk, the Russian military intends to recapture the terrain held by Ukrainian troops since the summer following a surprise advance across the border.

Russia launched its all-out war against Ukraine nearly 1,000 days ago and holds nearly 20% of its territory. These territorial gains were achieved at the cost of significant losses in soldiers and weapon systems.

Zelensky: Russian attack targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure

Ukrainian air defences intercepted most of the 120 missiles and 90 drones launched by Russian forces overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram on Sunday.

"Our air defences destroyed more than 140 aerial targets," the Ukrainian president posted. "Unfortunately, there is damage to buildings from hits and falling debris," he added.

Zelensky said the Russian attacks had primarily targeted energy infrastructure across the country, and power outages had resulted in certain areas. Clean-up work was under way, he said.

Zelensky expressed his condolences to the families of two women who were killed in the southern city of Mykolaiv during attack.

Russian drone attack kills two in southern Ukraine near Black Sea

Two women were killed and four adults, along with two children, were injured in a Russian drone attack overnight on the southern city of Mykolaiv, regional military governor Vitalii Kim reported on his Telegram channel Sunday morning.

Kim reported damage to private homes, a high-rise building, a shopping centre and several cars. He also noted that an unidentified infrastructure structure had been hit.

Russian attacks have repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy supply. Mykolaiv, a port city on the Black Sea, located east of Odessa and near the Russian front lines, has frequently been targeted.

Poland scrambles air force in response to Russian attack on Ukraine

Polish jets scrambled overnight in response to a massive Russian aerial attack on Ukraine, the Polish military reported on X from Warsaw on Sunday morning.

Radar detection systems and surface-to-air defences were put on their highest alert level, with the aim of ensuring security in border areas close to the Ukrainian regions under attack, it said.

Poland, a NATO member since 1999, deploys combat jets with every major attack on western Ukraine, with NATO partner aircraft also frequently sent for support.

In November 2022, two people died when a rocket hit the south-eastern border village of Przewodów.

While Western reports attributed the strike to a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile launched to intercept a Russian attack, there was speculation in Polish media that it had been a Russian missile.

Photo: EPA