Russia Launches Massive Ballistic Missile and Drone Attacks Killing Five Civilians Across Ukraine

Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine, deploying over 50 ballistic missiles and around 500 drones targeting civilian infrastructure across nine regions.

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ITVX

The assault resulted in at least five civilian deaths, including a 15-year-old in Lviv, which faced its heaviest aerial attack since the 2022 invasion.

ITVX

The strikes led to power outages, transportation disruptions, and damage to homes and businesses in cities such as Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Sloviansk.

Russia claimed it targeted military-industrial and energy sites, while Ukraine accused Moscow of deliberately aiming to disrupt civilian gas, heat, and electricity supplies ahead of winter.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy condemned the attacks as “aerial terror” and urged Western allies for increased air defense support, criticizing the weak global response.

The attacks caused significant damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leading to widespread power outages and disruptions in public transport.

In Lviv, a combined drone and missile strike killed four people, including a teenager, injured six, and caused power outages and transport disruptions, also setting a business complex on fire.

Euronews

In Zaporizhzhia, a woman was killed and nine injured after strikes damaged residential buildings and cut power to 73,000 households.

In Sloviansk, six people, including a child, were injured when a guided bomb hit an apartment block.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western partners for increased air defense support to counter Russia’s intensified attacks, which target power grids and railways to disrupt civilian life and military logistics ahead of winter.

The international response to the attacks has been varied.

“Russian forces launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on western and southern Ukraine, including the Lviv region, Zaporizhzhia, and Sloviansk, causing civilian casualties, power outages, and damage to residential and civilian infrastructure”

Toronto Star

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called for stronger air defenses and proposed a unilateral ceasefire in the skies to facilitate diplomacy.

Poland and NATO have responded by deploying fighter jets to protect airspace amid widespread air raid alerts in Ukraine.

These attacks come shortly after increased US support for Ukraine’s strikes into Russian territory.

Meanwhile, US congressional leaders remain deadlocked over government funding, risking a shutdown by October 1, 2025.

The attacks have raised safety concerns at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant due to nearby shelling.

Former US President Donald Trump expressed caution about supplying Ukraine with US-made Tomahawk missiles.

The Killeen Daily Herald

He sought clarity on their intended use to avoid escalating the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that providing such long-range missiles to Ukraine would severely damage US-Russia relations.

Zelensky has requested that the US sell Tomahawks to European countries for transfer to Ukraine.