Russia launched missiles and drones at cities across Ukraine in an overnight attack that continued into the day, with explosions heard in Kiev all morning, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Ukraine desperately needs missiles for U.S. Patriot air defense systems capable of countering Russian ballistic missiles, and Moscow's fast-flying jet-powered drones pose another challenge since the full-scale Russian invasion began four and a half years ago.
Ukrainian officials say Russia is stockpiling missiles and launching massive attacks on every several days, hoping to exhaust Ukrainian defense capabilities. In response, Ukraine launched strikes on key targets on Russian territory, with both sides inflicting damage on each other.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had carried out "massive" strikes on targets in nine Ukrainian cities beginning after sunset yesterday. It described the targets as military-related, including industrial facilities, oil refineries, logistics centers and port infrastructure.
Civilian areas, including residential buildings, also suffered damage. The shelling killed a 78-year-old woman in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhia region and another person in northern Kharkiv region, while Ukrainian authorities said at least 14 people were injured elsewhere.
"Russia continues to rely on missiles and the expansion of its war, which means more countermeasures are needed," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, noting pledges made earlier this week by European countries to provide more air defense assistance.
"It is important that these (measures) are complemented by additional assistance packages in the field of missile defense" through European arms purchases from the United States, he said.
Although the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed that only military targets were attacked, Russia appears determined to hit Ukrainian businesses and undermine the country's economy through attacks on private enterprises after long-range drone strikes on Ukraine caused financial difficulties for Moscow.
Russian drones struck three major distribution centers, destroying warehouses belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company and damaging another run by an electronics retailer, the companies said.
Moscow is also continuing its efforts to disrupt Ukraine's power grid before the cold winter months.
Four powerful cruise missiles destroyed generating equipment at a combined heat and power plant in the southern Kherson region, forcing it to shut down, its spokesman said. operator of the company "Naftogaz".
Zelensky was due to visit neighboring Moldova today to mark its national holiday - the anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukraine declared its independence the same year.
Russia's Eastern European neighbors are concerned that its invasion of Ukraine could spark a wider conflict, and drones entering their airspace are fueling the worries, the AP reports.
Moldova's Defense Ministry said on Monday that five drones had violated its airspace, but did not specify who launched them.
Ukraine's air force said its air defense forces had shot down or neutralized seven Russian ballistic missiles, although it did not say how they did it.
Four districts of Kiev were hit overnight, with damage to residential buildings, a school and a medical facility, although no casualties were reported, the city police said.
Russian forces struck industrial sites as well as energy infrastructure in central Ukraine's Poltava region, said Vitaly Dyakivnych, head of the Poltava regional military administration.
The southern Odessa region also came under a massive Russian attack that lasted more than seven hours, said Oleg Kiper, head of the Odessa regional military administration.
The attacks damaged a 16-story apartment building and two educational institutions, as well as a grain warehouse, he added.
Odessa is a key port for vital exports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine, the AP notes.
Some trains were delayed by more than 17 hours after the attack, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said.
Ukraine also launches hundreds of long-range drones almost every night at targets in Russia.
Ukraine's General Staff said missiles fired from aircraft hit Russia's main and reserve command posts near the eastern city of Donetsk in Donbas, where Ukrainian forces are repelling a Russian offensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that Russian air defenses had shot down 267 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, the AP reported.
After destroying huge warehouses belonging to the company Wildberries in recent months - Russia's largest online retailer, Ukrainian drones are now targeting warehouses of "Ozon" - the country's second-largest online retailer.
"Ozon" initially reported that its logistics facilities in the cities of Orenburg and Ufa were attacked, but neither of them caught fire. The company later clarified in a statement that only the Ufa facility was attacked, while the Orenburg facility was evacuated due to an alarm but has resumed normal operations, the AP notes.