Ukraine is preparing a military response after Russia hit the country with a massive barrage of rockets, cruise missiles and drones, in what officials say was one of the heaviest airstrikes in two and a half years of war.
Fifteen of Ukraine’s 24 regions were hit by the attack that targeted Ukraine’s energy sector, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said via Telegram on Monday.
According to authorities, the death toll is seven and 47 were injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had discussed Ukraine’s response to the attack with Supreme Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi.
“We are preparing for it, the use of F-16s and the ongoing operation in the Kursk region. We continue our actions in the designated areas as necessary for Ukraine,” Zelensky said in his late-night speech.
More than 120 missiles and over 100 drones were fired at Ukraine.
He called for the lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range weapons supplied by Western partners, which currently prevent Ukraine from penetrating deep into Russian territory.
“Each of these strikes brings us back to the task of long-range capabilities: the need to equip our armed forces with sufficient long-range weapons that can destroy terrorists exactly where they strike,” he said.
“This is the optimal counter-terrorism tactic, one that all of our partners are entitled to use and undoubtedly would use to protect themselves.”
Ukraine’s presence in the Kursk region and “our active efforts to eliminate the Russian threat on our own territory are also a way to compensate for the shortage of long-range capabilities,” Zelensky added.
On Monday evening, local authorities reported that a Russian airstrike had hit a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s hometown.
Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, confirmed the attack on Telegram on Tuesday morning. He said the rocket hit a civilian building, killing one person and wounding four others.
Hydroelectric power station hit in Kiev
In the capital, the hydroelectric power station at the Kiev reservoir was damaged by a Russian airstrike, Ukrainian media reported.
The Kiev news agency UNIAN reported the strike after a video of the damage appeared on Russian Telegram channels.
According to the report, there was a fire in the turbine room of the hydroelectric power plant.
After the airstrike, the military administration of the Kiev region officially confirmed only the damage to two unnamed energy infrastructure facilities.
At the same time, Ukrainian authorities tried to dispel fears about the possible destruction of the dam. “There is no threat to the dam of the Kiev hydroelectric power station. It is impossible to destroy it with missiles,” Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Combating Disinformation, wrote on Telegram.
Poland says unknown object violated airspace
The Polish Armed Forces reported that an unidentified “aerial object” entered Polish airspace on Monday morning.
General Maciej Klisz, the armed forces’ operational commander, said at least three radar stations had registered the suspected unmanned object.
The military had the situation “completely under control” and was prepared to shoot down the object if necessary, Klisz said, as quoted by Poland’s PAP news agency.
The object crossed the Polish border near the Ukrainian city of Chervonohrad at 6:43 a.m. (03:43 GMT). On Monday afternoon, the military said it was still unclear whether it had crashed or returned to Ukraine.
Reuters confirms death of British worker in Ukraine
A British man who worked as a security adviser for Reuters news agency has been killed in a Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the news agency has confirmed.
According to Reuters, Ryan Evans, “a member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine,” was killed on Sunday in a night-time attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk.
According to authorities, his body was not recovered from the rubble for several hours.
Four people were pulled from the rubble with injuries, Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said on Telegram. He had initially reported two deaths.
According to Filashkin, the four injured were Germans, Ukrainians, Latvians and Americans working for Reuters.
According to Reuters, a team of six staff members were staying at the hotel when the strike took place.
Two of their journalists were treated in hospital, one in serious condition, the agency said, while the other three team members were safe.
According to the agency, Evans was 38 years old and a former British soldier who had worked for Reuters since 2022.
According to Ukrainian prosecutors, the hotel was hit by an Iskander-M missile.
Pro-Russian military bloggers confirmed the attack, but said heavy FAB-1500 glide bombs were used in the strike.
IAEA chef visits Russia Kursk nuclear power plant
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said he will lead a team to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant in western Russia on Tuesday.
The facility is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from fighting that broke out nearly three weeks ago when Ukrainian forces launched a surprise invasion of Russian territory.
“Given the serious situation, I am personally leading the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in the Russian Federation,” Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
“The safety and security of all nuclear power plants are of critical and fundamental importance to the IAEA.”
The nuclear power plant is located on the Seym River, near the city of Kurchatov.
Last week, Russia told the IAEA that a drone had been intercepted near the plant. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attempting to attack the site, without providing any evidence.
Donetsk region orders further evacuations
Ukrainian authorities ordered further evacuations due to Russian advances in the eastern Donetsk region.
Due to the deteriorating security situation, the forced evacuation zone has been expanded and children and their parents or caregivers must leave their homes, Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin announced on Monday evening.
A total of 27 places in the Kostiantynivka and Selydove area were listed. An evacuation of villages had already been ordered in the Pokrovsk region due to the advance of Russian troops there.
Russian troops have captured a series of villages in the Donetsk region in recent months. One of Moscow’s war goals is to bring Donetsk fully under Russian control.
