The overnight explosions took place in the capital Kiev, the port city of Odessa and in Kharkiv, Reuters news agency reported. Meanwhile, battles continued in Bakhmut, which is expected to fall into the hands of the Russians within a few days.
At 07.30, the first reports of deaths appeared.
Lviv region governor Maksim Kozitsky said in a video that at least four civilians were killed after attacks on the city of Zolotchev.
He also fears that more people may be trapped in the collapsed buildings.
Twitter user @antiputler_news posted a drone video purporting to show how a missile landed in Zolochiv:
NTB writes that it is extremely rare for Russia to attack targets so far west in the country, also noting that the attack was the largest in three weeks.
Shortly after 8 a.m., the Ukrainian military said the Russians launched a total of 81 missiles and eight drones during the attacks. It is said that 34 of the 81 missiles were shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force.
At 09:00, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a total of ten Ukrainian regions were affected by the attack.
The drones are scheduled to be Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikazes, says Chief of Defense, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army Valeriy Zalogny.
Smoke carpet: Black smoke settled over the Ukrainian capital Thursday morning, after several Russian missile attacks. Photo: REUTERS/Vladislav Sudel
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– Strike Kyiv with a “dagger”
In an official statement, the adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Anton Gerashchenko, said that vital infrastructure in the capital had been hit by a Russian Kinzhal airborne missile.
– Last night, the Russians launched a massive attack on Ukrainian territory, using almost all kinds of air weapons. They hit Kyiv with a “dagger”. Gerashchenko says that Russia is a terrorist.
In addition, 40 percent of the city’s population lacks electricity in their homes, says Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
At the same time, the Ukrainian state corporation Energoatom said that the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant had lost capacity as a result of the attacks. Energoatom operates four active nuclear power plants in Ukraine.
The attacks also hit a power plant in Odessa and caused a power outage, Governor Maksim Marchenko wrote in a Telegram. He says the rockets also hit residential areas.
On the way to Ukraine: The photo shows three Russian missiles launched from the Belgorod region of Russia towards the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Thursday night. Photo: AP Photo/Vadim Belikov
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Kharkiv is completely obscured
Governor Oleh Sengyhopov said earlier on Thursday that the city and region of Kharkiv had been hit by 15 missile attacks, and that infrastructure had been damaged.
At 09:00, Mayor Igor Terekov in Kharkiv said the entire city was without electricity, water and heat.
There is no electricity in the whole city. We have turned to generators in critical infrastructure, Terekov tells a local TV station.
The power outage knocked out the heating and water supply systems.
There have also been reports of attacks in the city of Dnipro and many other areas across the country. Among others, explosions were reported in the western cities of Lutsk and Rivne, which are far from the front line.
Dagbladet updates the case.
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