Two people were killed when a Russian-made missile struck Poland’s eastern side. This was the first time that Russian weapons have been used against a NATO country in the conflict with Ukraine.

Volodymr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, decried the strike as a “very significant escalation of war.”

In a statement, the Polish government stated that Zbigniew Rau, Foreign Minister of Poland, summoned the Russian ambassador to ask for detailed explanations.

Piotr Mueller, a spokesperson for the Polish government, stated that some military units had been placed on alert while officials sought more information.

Polish media reported that the strike occurred in Przewodow (a village close to the Ukrainian border) where grain was drying.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, “any strikes against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish frontier” were not carried out. They stated in a statement that photographs of damage done “have nothing to do with” Russian weapons.

On Tuesday, Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy facilities with its largest missile barrage yet. It struck targets all over the country, causing widespread blackouts.

Also, neighboring Moldova was affected by the barrage. An official stated that the strike knocked out the key power line which supplies the tiny nation. The country experienced massive power outages.

Zelenskyy was furious at the missile strikes that plunged large parts of Ukraine into darkness. He shook his fist in dismay and declared, “We will over come everything.”

The leader of Ukraine stated that the strikes in Poland were proof that terror is not restricted by state borders.

“We must put the terrorist in his place. Zelenskyy stated that Russia will feel more impunity the longer it continues to be in control. This will increase the danger for anyone within reach of Russian missiles.

He said that Russia had fired at most 85 missiles. Most of these were aimed at its power plants and blacked out many other cities.

According to the Ukrainian energy minister, the attack was the “most massive” bombardment of power plants in the Russian invasion that lasted nearly nine months. It struck both power generation and transmission.

Herman Haluschenko, the minister, called the missile strikes “another attempt to terrorist revenge” following diplomatic and military setbacks for Russia. He said Russia was “trying to do maximum damage to our energy systems on the eve” of winter.

After days of excitement in Ukraine, fueled by its greatest military achievements — the retaking of Kherson, the southern city, last week, the aerial attack resulted in at most one death in a Kyiv residential building.

Previous attacks on the country’s infrastructure had already damaged 40% of its power grid. Zelenskyy stated that the number of Ukrainians without electricity had dropped from 10 million to 2,000,000 by Tuesday evening.

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not comment on the retreat of Kherson after his troops were forced to withdraw in the face a Ukrainian offensive. The scale of Tuesday’s strikes was striking and hints at anger within the Kremlin.

The Russian military used the late afternoon to strike targets, just before the sun began to set, to force rescue workers to work in darkness and give repair crews little time to assess the damage.

Over a dozen areas, including Lviv in west and Kharkiv (northeast), reported that their air defenses attempted to strike missiles or attempt to do so. A minimum of a dozen areas reported power outages that affected cities with millions of residents. Authorities said that almost half of Kyiv lost power.

Zelenskyy warned of more strikes and encouraged people to seek shelter and stay safe.

“Most hits were recorded in central and northern parts of the country.” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official, stated that the situation in the capital is difficult.

He claimed that 15 energy targets had been damaged, and 70 missiles were downed. Spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia used X-101 cruise missiles and X-555 strike missiles.

Tymoshenko encouraged Ukrainians to “hang on there” as attacks were reported in city after city.

Russia is increasingly turning to Ukraine’s power grid to combat its losses in battle. This seems to be an attempt to make winter a weapon, leaving people cold and dark.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv said that authorities discovered a body in one the three buildings struck by lightning in Kyiv. The emergency blackouts were also declared by DTEK, the power provider.

A presidential aide published video showing a five-story residential building in Kyiv set on fire. Flames were seen licking apartments. Klitschko stated that air defense units had also taken down missiles.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra took to a bomb shelter in Kyiv after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart and, from his place of safety, described the bombardment as “an enormous motivation to keep standing shoulder-to-shoulder” with Ukraine.

“There is only one solution, and that is to keep going. He said that Ukraine should continue to be supported, should keep delivering weapons and must also work on accountability.

Authorities were already working hard to get Kherson on its feet, and began investigating alleged Russian abuses in the area and elsewhere.

The city’s southern part is without water and power, and Matilda Bogner (head of U.N. human Rights office’s monitoring mission to Ukraine), decried Tuesday the “dire humanitarian situation” in the country.

Bogner spoke from Kyiv and said that her teams were planning to travel to Kherson in order to verify the claims of almost 80 cases of forced disappearances or arbitrary detention.

Igor Klymenko is the head of Ukraine’s National Police and he stated that authorities will begin investigating reports from Kherson residents claiming that Russian forces have set up at most three torture sites in the now-liberated Kherson region.

Another blow was dealt to the Kremlin by Kherson’s retaking. Zelenskyy compared the recapture with the Allied landings on France on D-Day in World War II and said both were crucial events in the path to eventual victory.

However, large areas of the eastern and southern Ukraine are still under Russian control and fighting continues.

Zelenskyy warned that there could be more dire news in the future.

“Everywhere we look, when we liberate the land, there is one thing we see: Russia has left behind mass burials and torture chambers. Zelenskyy inquired, “How many mass graves remain in Russia’s territory?”