Russia launched deadly drones and missiles ‘nightmare’ in Ukraine, Kyiv says

LONDON — Russia launched a deadly large-scale attack on Ukraine on Monday, sending drones and cruise and ballistic missiles into at least 15 regions, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack was one of the largest airstrikes since the war began in 2022, with Russia using at least 127 missiles and 109 drones in an attack that lasted more than eight hours, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“And like most of Russia’s previous attacks, this one is just a bastard, targeting critical civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “can only do what the world allows.”

Critical infrastructure, the energy and railway sectors were targeted in the attack, Zelenskyy said.

“What is happening today in Kyiv is unbelievable horror. Pray for us,” said Kira Rudick, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, on social media. He then added, “What happened today? A nightmare.”

At least seven people were killed and at least 47 others were injured in the attack in Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a post on Telegram on Monday.

Of the 47 injured, four were children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said.

Following the massive attack, additional casualties were reported late Monday night after local officials said a missile struck civilian infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine. A woman was killed and four people were injured in the attack, according to city officials, while rescue operations were underway.

Some residents of Kyiv, the capital, took shelter in the city’s subway as Russia launched a “massive” offensive across the country, Olga Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister, said on social media. They included a local news video showing many people standing along a train platform.

Kyiv was among 15 regions across Ukraine hit in the attack, which began in the early morning and continued into the evening, for at least 12 hours, officials said.

“Attack UAVs are attacking Kyiv from various directions today,” said the Kyiv City Military Administration, referring to aerial vehicles, or drones.

The government added, “Air defense soldiers have destroyed a total of about one and a half dozen enemy drones heading towards the capital. The air strike in Kyiv has lasted for more than 6 hours.”

In a statement Monday, President Joe Biden condemned the attack.

“I condemn, in the strongest possible way, Russia’s continued war against Ukraine and its efforts to plunge the Ukrainian people into darkness. Let me be clear: Russia will not succeed in Ukraine, and the spirit of the Ukrainian people will not be broken. “he said in a statement.

Biden said he was “uploading energy equipment to Ukraine to repair the system and strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s energy grid.”

The attack followed the celebration of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Saturday. Russia on Saturday attacked several Ukrainian infrastructures, knocking out power to many. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv helped restore power on Sunday after Russia’s “barbaric attack,” according to the U.S. State Department’s official social media account.

Russia in the attack on Friday also targeted the energy infrastructure in an attempt to “terrorize all of Ukraine” and “cause Ukrainians from electricity,” the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the state parliament, said. Engineers worked through the morning to restore much of the power, parliament said.

“The desire to destroy our energy will be very expensive for Russia – infrastructure,” Andrii Yermak, Zelenskyy’s adviser, said in Ukrainian on the Telegram messaging app on Monday.

The White House condemned the massive Russian attack, calling it a “classic play” by Vladimir Putin.

“This is a classic play from the playbook for Vladimir Putin to pursue energy infrastructure, especially since he knows the weather will change, and people will need more heat and power as things cool down in Ukraine,” National. Security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Monday afternoon.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s continued war against Ukraine and its attempts to plunge Ukrainians into darkness as autumn is here, and as winter approaches,” Kirby added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday it had carried out “massive strikes with long-range precision weapons,” including some launched from the sea. Russian drones were sent to attack “critical energy infrastructure facilities that support the operations of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex,” the ministry said in a statement.

“All the targets set were hit,” the ministry said.

Several casualties were reported after the attack hit a house in the Dnipropetrovsk region and an apartment block in downtown Lutsk, officials said.

Rescue services put out 22 fires across the country, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

After the attack, blackouts began in many regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Volyn, Rivne, Odesa and Chernihiv, among others, according to local authorities. In the Zhytomyr region, water supply has stopped due to a power outage, local media reported.

Public electric transport operations were suspended in Odesa due to power supply disruptions, local authorities said.

“There was no significant damage” to the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Station, which was targeted in the Russian attack, Kyiv Region Military Administration Ruslan Kravchenko said.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Oleksiy Pshemyskyi contributed to this report.