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Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister says Russia’s overnight attack is Vladimir Putin’s “true response” to Moscow’s recent diplomatic dealings with foreign countries.

"Russia launched one of the largest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure," Andrii Sybiha, who became foreign affairs minister in September, writes on X.

"This is war criminal Putin’s true response to all those who called and visited him recently," Sybiha writes.

"We need peace through strength, not appeasement.”

Earlier this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Putin for the first time in almost two years, despite Kyiv's objections.

Scholz's call came several days after Moscow denied reports that Putin and Trump spoke after the US election. In the call, the president-elect is said to have warned against escalating the conflict further.

Paul Adams
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Ukraine’s largest private energy company says the latest Russian missile and drone attacks caused "significant damage" to its thermal energy plants in a statement this morning.

DTEK said this was the eighth large-scale attack on its energy facilities this year.

It said that its thermal plants have been targeted more than 190 times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian officials fear that attacks like those this morning could mark the beginning of another concerted Russian attack to knock out key elements of the power grid as winter arrives.

The last major attack on power infrastructure was in late August. Ukraine is currently running on somewhere between a third and a half of its pre-2022 energy generating capacity. The exact figure is officially classified.

Two rail workers were killed after Russian air strikes on railways and rail depots in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the national railway carrier.

In a post on X, Ukrainian Railways say two railway men died and three others were injured as a result of "shelling of the railway".

"Sincere condolences to their relatives and friends. We are grateful to every railwaymen for their bravery and constant hard work," the post says.

Two women have died in Russian drone strikes on the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine's State Emergencies Service says.

Six people were also injured including two children, it adds.

Governor of the Mykolaiv region Vitaliy Kim says drones attacked in "several waves" during the early hours of Sunday.

Residential buildings, a high-rise, cars, a shopping centre, and infrastructure were damaged, with fires breaking out, he says.

Image source, EPA

Russia launched around 120 missiles and 90 drones during a "massive combined strike on all regions of Ukraine", Volodymyr Zelensky says.

Posting on Telegram, the Ukrainian president says Moscow was targeting his country's energy infrastructure.

He acknowledges some areas are without power, and says work is ongoing to restore it.

Zelensky also says Ukrainian air defences destroyed more than 140 targets.

Paul Adams
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Image source, State Emergency Service Of Ukraine

Air raid sirens sounded across the country during the night as Russian drones and missiles were launched from several locations.

Ukraine has experienced many such attacks, but this was the largest coordinated assault since early September.

Once again, the country’s energy infrastructure – generators and transmission stations - seemed to be the main target.

As temperatures drop and the first snow falls, the authorities are anticipating another difficult winter.

In the south, the city of Mykolaiv was among the worst hit, with at least two people killed and several injured. Further south, the Black Sea port of Odesa experienced a city-wide power cut.

Not for the first time, Poland scrambled fighter jets as missiles headed for western Ukraine.

And in the capital, Kyiv, fragments from intercepted missiles and drones fell in several places, but there were no reports of injuries.

Barbara Tasch
Live page editor

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the aerial attack Russia launched across Ukraine overnight.

The strikes largely targeted energy infrastructure and emergency power cuts have been announced in three regions.

Ukraine's foreign minister called it "one of the largest air attacks" overnight, saying missiles and drones were used against "critical infrastructure".

Explosions and casualties have been reported in a few cities across the country.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest news and analysis from the region.