Across Ukraine, residents reported Russian strikes in the west of the country and in cities including Lviv and Odesa, where a city mayor warned of “mass casualties.” A Ukrainian security official told NBC News that 158 drones and missiles were launched overnight, with most being shot down. The official called the attack “one of the biggest in recent history.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the escalation of attacks by Russia on Ukraine. He urged Western allies to raise their backing of Ukraine. “It’s an obvious message that Putin won’t stop until he reaches his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
The US ambassador to Ukraine echoed that message, calling the raids a “horrific barrage” that showed Ukraine’s need for more support from its allies. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reaffirmed London’s support for Ukraine, saying that it was essential to keep up pressure on Russia.
Ukraine’s security minister said the attacks were aimed at critical infrastructure, industrial and military targets. He also warned of a possible power shortage in parts of the country, where millions rely on electricity for heating.
As the war in Ukraine has dragged on, Russia has turned to tactics from last winter, when it focused on civilian sites that provide energy and heat for the nation’s population of 37 million. Millions in Ukraine still face shortages of gas for heating.
Zelensky also drew a link between the latest raids by Russian forces and 1932-33, when hundreds of thousands died in what was then known as the Holodomor famine. He referred to it as “wilful terror.”
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was attacked again. Residents reported explosions and the sound of drones overhead, and officials said a residential building and a warehouse had been hit by debris.
The attacks in Ukraine come as Kyiv struggles to maintain support for the war against Russian invaders. Some Western countries have begun to scale back their commitment to providing Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons platforms, citing concerns about the risks of a broader conflict in Europe.