Massive Russian attacks rock Ukraine for the second day in a row

A day after one of the largest airstrikes of the war, Russia has targeted Ukraine with another wave of attacks.

Air strike alerts were issued early Tuesday after Ukrainian observers spotted Russian aircraft firing hypersonic missiles. Mass drone attacks were also reported.

The Ukrainian air defense forces believe that the entire country is under threat from an attack with ballistic weapons.

A statement by the Russian Defense Ministry said that long-range air- and sea-based precision weapons had been used against power plants and related infrastructure throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Lviv and the Kharkiv and Odessa regions.

At least six people died during the night from Sunday to Monday and dozens were injured. More than half of Ukraine’s regions have been attacked with drones and missiles.

The electricity supply infrastructure was affected and power outages occurred in many cities. The water supply was also affected.

US President Joe Biden called the attacks “outrageous” and said Washington would continue to support Ukraine’s energy network.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned “Russia’s cowardly missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure.”

Three people have already been confirmed to have died in the latest wave of attacks.

In the eastern Zimbabwean city of Kryvyi Rih, a building of civil infrastructure was hit late on Monday evening. Two people died. Several people are missing.

And the head of the Zaporizhia regional administration, Ivan Fedorov, said that one man was killed and a man and a woman were injured in the city of Zaporizhia.

Local official Yevhen Sytnychenko reported the fatalities and said houses, shops and vehicles were damaged in the incident.

Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Explosions were also reported in the regions of Kyiv, Sumy, Khmelnytskyi and Mykolaiv.

Launches of several hypersonic Kinzhal missiles (Dagger) were recorded, which are difficult for air defenses to intercept.

The latest attacks are seen as an attempt by Moscow to restore its control over the conflict after Ukraine recently gained territory in Russia’s Kursk region.

Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure early on in its large-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

In recent months, the organization has renewed its campaign of attacks on the power grid, causing frequent blackouts across the country.

On Monday, Zelensky called on Western allies, including Britain, the United States and France, to change their rules and allow Ukraine to strike even deeper inside Russia.

Ukraine is permitted to use certain Western weapons to attack targets inside Russia – but not long-range weapons.

Mr Zelensky said: “We could do much more to protect lives” if European air forces worked together with Ukrainian air defences.