Multiple parts of Ukraine were hit by a Russian missile attack on Thursday. This was the largest wave of strikes in recent weeks against power stations and other vital infrastructure during freezing weather.

All over the country, sirens of air raid sirens were heard. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi (Ukraine’s military chief) said that preliminary data indicated that Russia had fired 69 missiles at Ukrainian energy facilities, while Ukrainian forces destroyed 54. There are no immediate reports of any deaths.

Russia sent explosive drones to select regions overnight, before expanding the barrage with cruise missiles from ships and strategic aircraft launched from air and sea.

This attack was just the latest in a string of Russian strikes against power and water supplies, which have only increased the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Since October, Moscow has been launching such attacks almost every week while its ground forces are struggling to advance.

According to the regional administration, on Thursday, air defense systems in Kyiv were activated to protect against strikes. The city was rocked by explosions.

At least three people were injured and taken to hospital, including a young girl aged 14. He warned that there would be power outages in the capital and asked people to store water and charge their electronic devices.

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, condemned Russia’s launch of the missiles during winter holidays. He called it “senseless barbarism.”

“There can’t be any ‘neutrality” in the face such mass war crimes. Kuleba tweeted, “Pretending to be neutral equals taking Russia’s place.”

Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a grueling battle of attrition for more than ten months after fighting. The Ukrainian military has reclaimed large areas of Russian-occupied territory in the country’s northeast and southern regions, and continues to resist Russian attempts to take over the entire industrial Donbas region.

Moscow also targeted key infrastructure and power plants in Ukraine to try to weaken their resolve and force them to negotiate with Russia.

Although the Ukrainian military claimed to have been successful in destroying incoming Russian missiles, and explosive drones following earlier attacks on their territory, others still managed to reach their targets. Many cities were without electricity, heat or internet for several hours or days.

Anastasia was a medic who sought refuge at a Kyiv subway station on Thursday. She gave only her first name and said that she was tired of fighting. “We don’t know how long this war will last. It’s difficult to feel afraid every day and put yourself on hold,” she stated.

According to their mayors, numerous explosions took place in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the country’s second largest city.

Telegram reported that 90% of Lviv was without electricity. He stated that trolleybuses and trams were not functioning and that residents could experience interruptions in their water supply.

Ukrainian officials in different regions claimed that some incoming Russian missiles had been intercepted.

Vitaliy Kim (the governor of the southern Ukrainian province of Mykolaiv) stated that five missiles were downed over the Black Sea. According to the North command of the Ukrainian military, two missiles were shot down over the Sumy region. This is located at the border with Russia’s northeast.

According to the city administration, two private buildings were damaged by fragments from downed Russian rockets in the Darnytskyi District of Kyiv. Officials from the city said that a playground and an industrial facility were also damaged in areas located across Dnieper River. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The latest Russian strike began on Thursday. Authorities in Odesa, Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih declared that they had shut off electricity to reduce damage to infrastructure facilities.

The United States and Ukraine agreed earlier this month to provide a Patriot missile battery for Ukraine’s defense. The U.S. and its allies pledged to supply energy-related equipment to Ukraine to withstand attacks on its infrastructure.

Mykhailo Podolyak was a consultant to Volodymyr Zelenskyy the Ukrainian President. He stated that Russia wanted to “destroy critical infrastructures and kill civilians en masse.”

“We’re still waiting for more proposals from ‘peacekeepers” about ‘peaceful Settlement,’ security guarantees for RF, and undesirability provocations,” Podolyak tweeted. This was a sarcastic reference made to statements by some Western countries who urged Ukraine for a political settlement.

Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, stated Monday that his country wants a “peace summit” within two months at United Nations, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acting as mediator. According to Kuleba, Russia must be tried for war crimes before it can talk directly with Moscow. However, he said that all other countries should be free to engage in dialogue with the Russians.

Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, dismissed the summit proposal as “delirious and hollow” Thursday. She described the proposal as a Washington publicity stunt that attempts to portray the Kyiv regime in peacemaker mode.

Zakharova stated that it was an attempt to give legitimacy to a meaningless conversation that would not be followed up by concrete steps.

Russian officials stated that any peace plan cannot proceed until Kyiv recognizes Russia’s sovereignty over territories it illegally annexed in September from Ukraine.