Russia Launches Massive Nighttime Assault on Ukraine, Killing 5 and Crippling Civilian Infrastructure

In a merciless overnight raid, Russia bombed Ukraine with a simultaneous aerial bombardment of over 50 ballistic missiles and nearly 500 drones against nine provinces, killing at least five civilians and injuring dozens. Lviv and Zaporizhzhia were two of the most severely affected.

Four individuals, including one 15-year-old, were killed in Lviv after a combined missile and drone attack. The bombardment interrup ted electricity and public transportation, and also started a fire in a civilian business complex. What was once regarded as a safe city, Lviv is now subjected to its heaviest bombardment since the invasion was launched in 2022.

In Zaporizhzhia, one woman was killed and nine others injured, including a 16-year-old woman. Residential apartments were destroyed, cutting electricity to more than 73,000 households. Sloviansk was also hit by guided aerial bombs, wounding six and destroying dozens of buildings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once more urged Western allies to send more air defense systems, describing the attacks as "aerial terror" to incapacitate critical infrastructure. The attacks also targeted gas facilities and rail infrastructure, which increased pressure on Ukraine's energy and transportation networks before winter.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that American supplies of long-range weapons to Ukraine would fuel tensions, a new phase of fighting. The attacks mark a strategic pivot by Moscow to weaponize winter and turn civilian life upside down.