Russia launched a huge wave of missile strikes across Ukraine while people slept on Thursday, killing at least six civilians, knocking out electricity and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid.
The first big volley of missile strikes since mid-February shattered the longest period of comparative calm since Moscow began a campaign to attack Ukraine's civil infrastructure five months ago. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions had been hit.
"The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That's all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done," Zelenskiy said in a statement.
At least five people were killed in a missile that destroyed a village house in the western Lviv region, according to emergency services. Drone footage from the area, some 700 km (440 miles) from any military battlefield, showed a flattened home surrounded by badly damaged buildings.
Another civilian was reported killed by the missiles in the central Dnipro region. Three civilians were separately reported killed by artillery in Kherson.
In the capital Kyiv, residents were awakened by explosions. A seven-hour air strike alert through the night was the longest of the Russian air campaign that began in October.
"I heard a very loud explosion, very loud. We quickly jumped out of bed and saw one car on fire. Then the other cars caught on fire as well. The glass shattered on the balconies and windows," said Liudmyla, 58, holding a toddler in her arms.
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