According to officials, a massive wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine left at least five dead.

 

Firefighters battled a blaze in Poltava, where two people were killed overnight (Image: Reuters)

After a massive overnight aerial bombardment that targeted several regions across the country, Russian strikes across Ukraine have resulted in the deaths of at least five individuals. A 61-year-old woman was killed when a drone hit an electric train in Kharkiv early on Tuesday, authorities said, while other deaths were reported in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Poltava.

 Officials said the attacks were among the worst in ten days and happened just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address that there would be a "massive strike." President Maia Sandu stated that Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure also severed Moldova's primary power connection to Europe, advising that the situation remained "fragile."

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Sirens wailed across Ukraine on Monday night as Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones at the country.  The Ukrainian Air Force stated in a Telegram statement that the attack involved the use of 392 drones, seven ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles, four air-launched guided missiles, and other types of missiles. Air defence units intercepted 25 missiles and 365 drones, it added.

 Zelensky wrote, "These numbers clearly show that more protection is needed to save lives from Russian strikes" in a post on X on Tuesday. It is important to continue supporting Ukraine."

 Attacks of this scale have been occurring roughly once a week or every ten days in recent months, and there had been mounting fears in the past few days that another wave of strikes was imminent.

 "Please pay attention to air raid sirens tonight," Zelensky said earlier in his video address to the nation on Monday.  "Intelligence says Russia may be preparing a massive strike."

 This time the attack focused on cities other than the capital, Kyiv.  Zelensky stated that eleven areas had been affected by damage. The south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, which was hit by six drones and six ballistic missiles, was one of the worst affected. One person was killed and nine injured after a residential high-rise building was hit, local authorities said.

 Local resident Dymtro Zaiets told Reuters news agency that his family was woken by a "very loud explosion".

 "We quickly gathered our things and ran downstairs, everything was on fire on our floor," he said.  "There was smoke, and we took our three-month-old child and ran quickly to the underground shelter.  My car is destroyed.  All our windows were blown out."

Zaporizhzhia was one of the worst hit regions in the overnight Russian strikes (Image: Getty Images)

Elsewhere, at least two people were killed and 12 injured when strikes hit residential buildings and a hotel in the north-eastern Poltava region, governor Vitaliy Dyakivnych said on Telegram.

 In Kherson, a civilian was killed when his house came under Russian shelling, the head of the city's military administration, Yaroslav Shanko, said.

 A 75-year-old woman was injured and hospitalised after a Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region, authorities said, and a 65-year-old bus driver was injured when his vehicle was hit by a drone in Sumy.

 Moldova's government condemned the strike on energy infrastructure in the Odesa region, which led to the disconnection of the Isaccea-Vulcanesti power line, used by Moldova to import electricity from neighbouring Romania.

 "Alternative routes are in place, but the situation remains fragile," President Sandu wrote on X.  "Russia is the only one responsible." The attacks "undermine regional energy security and endanger critical civilian infrastructure," the foreign ministry of Moldova stated in a Telegram post. The Russian advance in eastern Ukraine has significantly slowed down, and Ukrainian forces have reported minor counteroffensives in some areas. As a result, Moscow's overnight attack occurred. Russia's defence ministry said its air defences had intercepted "55 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles" over various regions overnight.

 Zelensky has previously warned that Russia will attempt to "exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction" in Ukraine.

 Air-defence systems critical to Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian missile attacks are being rapidly expended in the US-Israel war with Iran.

 In an interview with the BBC earlier in March, the Ukrainian President said Putin wanted a "long war" in the Middle East because it would weaken Kyiv, with US resources and focus directed elsewhere.

 He said that peace negotiations were being "constantly postponed", adding: "There is one reason - war in Iran."

 The first such negotiations since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran a month ago took place over the weekend, when officials from Ukraine and the United States discussed ways to put an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky stated after Sunday's talks that "this war of Russia against Ukraine must also be brought to an end" despite the United States' obvious focus on Iran. The fighting in Ukraine has not been stopped or Russia's extreme demands have not been modified through several rounds of talks that have been mediated by the United States. The Kremlin applauded the Trump administration's decision earlier this month to ease sanctions on nations that purchase Russian oil, but Ukrainians are deeply concerned.

Source: BBC