Russia Targets Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure With Deadly Bombardment

Russia attacked towns and cities across Ukraine before dawn on Sunday in another deadly large-scale missile and drone bombardment that the authorities said was aimed in large part at crippling the nation’s energy grid.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that about 500 Russian attack drones and 50 missiles were launched overnight. Drones continued to swarm Ukrainian skies throughout the morning and early afternoon on Sunday.

At least five people were killed and more were wounded, Mr. Zelensky said, as the authorities warned that the number of killed and injured would most likely rise.

“Today, the Russians once again targeted our infrastructure — everything that ensures normal life for our people,” Mr. Zelensky said in a statement. “We need more protection and faster implementation of all defense agreements, especially on air defense, to deprive this aerial terror of any meaning.”

As smoke rose over Lviv’s historic downtown, many in the region were left without power as emergency crews raced to repair damage. It was a scene repeated across the vast expanse of the country, with strikes reported in a number of other regions, including Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa and Kirovohrad.

Many recent attacks have taken aim at Ukraine’s energy grid, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement, knocking out power to large numbers of people. That followed a pattern that has played out every winter since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

At least one person was killed and 73,000 people were left without power in the southern Zaporizhzhia region after strikes there, the local authorities said on Sunday.

“Emergency repair and restoration work is ongoing to restore electricity as quickly as possible,” the energy ministry said.

Anastasia Kuznietsova contributed reporting.