Russia carried out a large-scale overnight air assault on Ukraine, targeting key energy infrastructure and injuring at least 15 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
"Russia is not changing its strategy," Zelensky wrote on the platform X. "To counter this terror effectively, we need to systematically strengthen our defenses: more air defense systems, more interceptors, and more determination — so that Russia feels our response."
The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow launched a barrage of weapons, including one Iskander-M missile and approximately 400 drones and drone decoys. Of those, 198 drones were shot down and 145 decoys were neutralized using electronic countermeasures, the military said.
The main targets of the attack were the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv and Vinnytsia.
In the western city of Vinnytsia, eight people were injured in the drone attacks, Natalia Zabolotna, the deputy head of the regional military administration, said on Facebook.
In Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's home town, the strikes triggered power outages. Authorities said water services had to be switched to generator power as a result.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's full-scale invasion for more than three years.
