Russia attacks Ukraine with over 100 missiles, around 100 drones, Zelensky says

Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack against Ukraine on the morning of Aug. 26, killing seven people, injuring nearly 50 others, and targeting the country's energy infrastructure once again.

In a post on Telegram, President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 100 missiles and 100 drones had been used in the "dastardly" attack.

Rescue operations were completed by 8:30 p.m., the State Emergency Service said. Almost 740 rescue workers were involved in the response to the attacks.

Across Ukraine, seven people were killed and 47 were injured, according to the State Emergency Service.  Among the wounded were four children, with the youngest less than a year old.

Air raid sirens sounded across the country just before 6 a.m., with the alert in Kyiv lasting nearly 8 hours.

Kyiv Independent reporters heard explosions in the city shortly before 8:30 a.m, with several more a few minutes later. More explosions were heard just after 9:00 a.m. shortly after Ukraine's Air Force said Russian MiG-31s, used to launch Kinzhal ballistic missiles, were in the air.

Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kryvyi Rih, as well as in Lviv, Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said 15 of the country's 24 oblasts had been targeted during the attack "primarily targeting critical civilian infrastructure and our energy system."

"There have been civilian deaths and injuries, as well as damage to energy facilities," he said in a post on X, adding: "Russia continues to wage a cowardly war against civilians, which constitutes war crimes."

In the city of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine, an apartment building was damaged, the city's mayor, Ihor Polishchuk, said. He later reported that one person in Lutsk had been killed.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Governor Serhii Lysak said a 69-year-old man had been killed as a result of the attack.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov said a man had been killed when a private residence was struck.

"The world must stop the terrorist country," he added.

In Zhytomyr Oblast, Governor Vitaliy Bunechko said one woman had been killed. And in Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleg Sinegubov said a man had been killed in the Izyum district.

In Mykolaiv Oblast, Governor Vitalii Kim said three people had been injured.

Four people including a 10-year-old boy were injured in Odesa Oblast, Governor Oleh Kiper said, and three people were injured in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

Three people are reported injured in Kyiv Oblast, the police said in a statement. One of those injured was hurt when a downed drone fell on a road, "completely destroying" a car, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.

Shortly after 9:00 a.m., DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said emergency power shutdowns were in place across Ukraine.

"The desire to destroy our energy sector will cost the Russians dearly, (it will cost them) their infrastructure,"  Ukraine's Presidential Office head, Andriy Yermak, said in a post on Telegram.

Klitschko said there were power outages in "several districts" of the capital, and later added there were problems with the water supply on the right bank of the city.

Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said infrastructure facilities in Kyiv Oblast had been hit, adding authorities were setting up "points of invincibility," communal station points that provide phone charging facilities and internet access for residents affected by power cuts.

In a later post, he confirmed two infrastructure facilities were damaged, along with 22 houses.

Later on Aug. 26, Tymofiy Mylovanov, an adviser to Zelensky's office, said a dam in Kyiv, part of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Plant, had been hit during the attack.

In Lviv Oblast, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said energy infrastructure had been attacked and power outages were in place as a result.

Damage to infrastructure facilities was also reported in Zaporizhzhia and Vinnytsia oblasts.

In a preliminary report on the attack, Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Russian forces used dozens of kamikaze drones, an initial wave of 11 Tu-95MS strategic bombers, and four Kalibr missile carrier ships.

Later, the launch of another six Tu-22m3 strategic bombers was recorded, as well as MiG-31Ks, used to launch Kinzhal missiles.

The exact number of missiles and drones used in the attack is still being established.

"After complex maneuvers, cruise missiles entered Kyiv in very dense groups from different directions," Popko said.

"During the attack of these cruise missiles, the enemy launched several ballistic missiles in the direction of the capital in a row, including Kinzhals. About one and a half dozen missiles were hit by air defense."

Zelensky described Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as a "sick creature," which "everyone has understood for a long time."

He then called on Western allies to allow Ukraine to lift restrictions on using their weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.

"He can only do what the world allows him to do. Weakness, inadequacy of decisions in response feeds terror," he said.

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The Kyiv IndependentChris York