Russia launched a new wave of missile attacks on several Ukrainian cities, killing at least five people and wounding dozens inside a residential building in Dnipro.
According to the district governor, a number of children are among the wounded.
The bombing hit the energy infrastructure facilities in a number of cities, and therefore large areas became in a state of darkness.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for those killed by Russia to be remembered and said the world needed to “stop this evil”.
The missile strikes targeted areas in the capital Kyiv and the city of Kharkiv, which led to damage to vital infrastructure.
Rocket attacks were also reported in various regions across Ukraine, including the western city of Lviv, the port city of Odessa in the south and all the way to Dnipro in the far east.
A few hours earlier, Ukrainian officials had warned that 17 Russian bombers had taken off in what appeared to be a wave of attacks.
Emergency services teams in Kharkiv struggled to stabilize the electricity supply, following two missiles hit power facilities in the city.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the Group of Seven and the European Union to impose sanctions on the Russian missile industry and drones.
Kuleba demanded that appropriate penalties be imposed without delay.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to take cover and be careful as missile debris fell.
Ukraine’s deputy chief of staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, wrote on Telegram: “A missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities” in Kyiv.
Authorities in Kyiv said an infrastructure facility had been bombed.
Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the Dnipro region, urging residents to “stay in shelters”.
Klitschko added that shrapnel from a missile landed in the Goloseevsky district of the city, without causing any injuries.
In the northeastern Kharkiv region, “the enemy launched another missile attack on critical infrastructure and industrial facilities,” said the district’s governor, Oleg Senigubov.
Senigubov warned of the possibility of an emergency power outage in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, and in the surrounding area.
Attacks were also reported in the southern Zaporizhia region.
“The enemy is attacking the territory of Ukraine once more,” said the head of the Cherkasy region in the center of the country, Igor Taborets, and that he expected widespread alerts in anticipation of the bombing around midday.
Since last October, and following a series of military setbacks in Ukraine, Russia has turned to the systematic targeting of critical infrastructure.
Ukraine’s energy providers are racing once morest time to repair the electricity grid, especially during the winter.