Russia Launches 188 Drones On Ukraine, Destroying 'Critical Infrastructure' In Overnight Attack

Ukraine was attacked with 188 drones of which 76 of them were shot down in 17 regions.

Ukraine said that Russia attacked with 188 drones overnight, which left the country with massive destruction. Buildings and “critical infrastructure” in various regions were damaged, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Tuesday.

“During the night attack, the enemy launched a record number of Shahed strike unmanned aerial vehicles and unidentified drones,” the air force said, referring to Iranian-designed drones, according to AFP.

According to a Reuters report, the overnight attack damaged the power grid in Ternopil, a major city in western Ukraine. It cut off power, water as well as heat supplies, the head of the regional defence headquarters said on Tuesday. 

Ukraine’s military said that it shot down 76 of the 188 drones, in 17 regions, while another 95 were either lost from their radars or downed by electronic jamming defensive systems. Moscow also fired four Iskander-M ballistic missiles, the air force said.

“Unfortunately, critical infrastructure facilities were hit, private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to massive drone attacks,” the Air Force statement said.

Serhiy Nadal, head of the Ternopil Region Defence Council headquarters, said on his Telegram messaging channel, that power disruptions would continue for hours but emergency services were working to restore the water supply by early morning. 

Ternopil, some 220 km east of NATO-member Poland, and most of Ukraine were under overnight air raid alert for hours, according to Ukraine's air force data. According to Reuters, during Russia’s attacks, it also hit the capital Kyiv overnight, and the military administration of the city. As most of the country sounded air raid alerts, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko warned of drones approaching the Ukrainian capital in multiple waves.

Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their air attacks with drones and missiles. Ukraine recently deployed US-supplied long-range missiles against Russia, and the Kremlin responded by testing an experimental hypersonic missile.

Following this, NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks on Tuesday after the missile attack which escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.”