Three dead after Russia launches ‘massive’ attack in Ukraine

Russia launched a “massive” attack on several Ukrainian cities on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, a day after warning of strikes over the Christmas period.

At least three people were killed, according to Ukrainian authorities, including a four-year-old child, while energy infrastructure was also targeted, leaving several regions without electricity.

Russia has launched more than 600 drones and 30 missiles, according to Ukraine.

Zelensky said “people just want to be with their families, at home and safe” in the run-up to Christmas, and said the strikes sent “an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities” despite ongoing peace talks.

He added: “Putin still cannot accept that he has to stop killing. And that means the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia.”

Zelensky previously warned that it was the Kremlin’s “nature” to “carry out massive attacks” during the holiday season.

Confirming the death of a child in the central Zhytomyr region, local official Vitaly Bunechko said: “She was taken to hospital, doctors fought for her life but ultimately could not save her.” Five other people were injured in the strike, he added.

Meanwhile, a 76-year-old woman was killed and three people injured when a house was hit in the kyiv region, according to Ukraine’s emergency service.

An attack in Khmelnytskyi, western Ukraine, killed a 72-year-old man, regional administration head Serhiy Tyurin said.

Polish warplanes took to the air in response to missiles and drones targeting western Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had targeted energy facilities and other transport infrastructure, according to Russia’s official Tass news agency.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reportedly struck a petrochemical plant in Stravropol in southern Russia.

Videos shared by Russian media online showed large flames rising towards the factory.

The region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said a Ukrainian drone hit the factory and started a fire. No casualties were reported and residential buildings were not damaged.

With temperatures expected to drop to -7°C on Wednesday, Ukraine’s energy operator warned of emergency power cuts “in all regions” and urged people to use energy “sparingly”.

Acting Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said it was the ninth major attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and that supplies in the Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytsky regions had been “almost completely” lost.

Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko told the BBC World Service that some areas could be without electricity “for several days”.

The main objective of Russian attacks in recent days has been the southern port city of Odessawhich comes after Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.

The Russian president made the threat in retaliation for Ukrainian drone attacks on tankers belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet”, vessels used to transport goods, including oil, which are under Western sanctions.

Tuesday morning’s attack marked a period of relative calm in the capital kyiv, where it has been weeks since Shahed drones were spotted flying low.

In the Ukrainian capital, many suspect that the most recent attack is linked to Monday’s bombing. assassination of a top Russian general after a car bomb exploded in Moscow.

Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the armed forces’ operational training department, died in the explosion, which Russia blames on Ukraine. Kyiv has not commented.

This also comes after the latest round of US-led diplomatic talks in Miamiwhere envoys from Washington and kyiv drafted detailed proposals to end the war.

According to Zelensky, the United States had proposed a Christmas truce, but Russia rejected the idea.

Zelensky said he received a progress report on the negotiations on Tuesday morning and that “several draft documents have been prepared”, including a basic framework for ending the war, future security guarantees for Ukraine and on the country’s post-war recovery.

Putin was also to be informed on Tuesday by his envoy Kirill Dmitriev of the latest discussions with Washington.