KYIV, Ukraine — Russia unleashed a wave of nighttime drone and missile attacks across 10 of Ukraine’s 24 regions, Ukrainian authorities said Friday as they prepare for another winter of infrastructure bombardment by the Kremlin’s forces.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 24 of 38 Shahed drones and one Kh-59 cruise missile launched by Russia.
The attacks caused fires in homes and public buildings, especially in the southern Kherson region which Moscow has increasingly targeted in recent weeks, emergency services said. Authorities reported that two people were injured.
“We understand that as winter approaches, Russian terrorists will attempt to cause more harm,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram after the attacks, employing his usual choice of words for the enemy’s forces.
Last winter, Russia took aim at Ukraine’s power grid in an effort to deny civilians light and heating and chip away at the country’s appetite for war. Ukrainian officials accused the Kremlin of weaponizing winter.
The Russian strikes are inflicting “unimaginable levels of suffering” on Ukrainian civilians, according to Ramesh Rajasingham, coordination director in the U.N. humanitarian office.
Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff, said Russia had expanded the number of drones it uses in its routine nighttime attacks as winter approaches.
“The battle for the sky is what awaits us,” he…
