UPDATES WITH LATEST STATEMENTS FROM UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Monday said that at least four people were killed as 15 regions were affected by Russian airstrikes that targeted the country's energy infrastructure.
"15 regions were affected today as a result of the massive Russian attack. The enemy used various types of weapons ... There are wounded and dead," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram.
Shmyhal said that various types of drones and missiles were used by Russia, adding that Ukraine's power grid operator Ukrenergo has been forced to introduce emergency power cuts to stabilize the country's energy system.
He called on its partners to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russian military targets inside Russia.
Reports have emerged from local authorities and media since early Monday of explosions caused by a Russian attack over multiple regions of Ukraine, including its capital Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported the movement of a large group of Russian drones across multiple regions, as well as the activity of 11 Tu-22MS strategic bombers.
Air raid alerts were issued across the country, with local authorities and media outlets reporting that explosions were caused by air defense systems destroying Russian drones.
Ukrainian private energy company DTEK announced that the power grid operator, Ukrenergo, has issued an order to implement an emergency blackout.
- Casualties
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that power outages have been recorded in several districts of the capital and that there have also been interruptions in the water supply caused by the power outage.
Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that no damages or casualties were reported in the capital as of 12:17 p.m. local time (0917GMT), and that the air raid alert has been going on for more than six hours.
Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk wrote on Telegram that one person died and five others were injured in Ukraine's northwestern city due to the airstrikes.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram that a 69-year-old man died during the massive attack.
Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov reported that one person was killed and another injured due to a missile strike over the region.
Meanwhile, Zhytomyr Governor Vitaliy Bunechko said that a woman was killed in the northwestern region, where he said residential buildings and critical infrastructure were damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on X that more than 100 drones and missiles were launched by Russia during the attack, which he described as "one of the largest.”
Zelenskyy went on to say that there is a " significant damage" to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, calling on Western partners to lift restrictions on using long-range capabilities.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it launched an attack in the morning on "critical energy infrastructure facilities that support the operation of Ukraine's military-industrial complex."
"All designated targets were hit," the statement further said.