Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight on June 1, damaging energy infrastructure in various regions across the country.
At least 19 people, including children, were injured in the attacks.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, at least four people were injured in the attacks, including a seven-year-old girl, following a strike on the city of Nikopol, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. The attack damaged a house, as well as two other buildings and a transport bus.
In Lviv Oblast, Russian forces hit energy infrastructure facilities, injuring four people, the State Emergency Service said. During the attack, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported Russian missiles heading toward the town of Stryi.
In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian missile attack aimed at the town of Balakliia in the Izium district, hitting two houses where 12 people were present at the time, said Oleh Syniehubov.
Eleven people, including eight children aged two to 17, were injured and hospitalized, officials said. The 12th person, a 53-year-old woman, suffered from shock, the head of the Balakliia military administration, Vitalii Karabanov, said in a comment for Suspilne.
Syniehubov originally said that one of the injured victims was a pregnant woman, but Karabanov later clarified that her pregnancy was not confirmed.
At around 4 a.m. local time, the debris from a downed Russian Shahed-type drone caused a fire to break out at a critical infrastructure facility in Vinnytsia Oblast, Governor Serhii Borzov reported.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko confirmed that energy infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts came under fire by Russian forces. Restoration and emergency workers are currently on scene and are determining the extent of the damage.
In Zaporizhzhia, multiple explosions were heard around 3 a.m local time, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov reported on Telegram.
Fedorov later said that a combined 20 residential buildings and social institutions were damaged as a result of the attacks. No casualties were reported.
An energy infrastructure facility was also hit in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, resulting in a fire. No casualties were reported, Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk said.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said that two of its thermal power plants were targeted in the attack, resulting in “serious damage” to the equipment.
Ukraine’s Air Force announced an air alert throughout the country, including the far-western oblasts, citing the threat of Russian cruise and ballistic missiles, drones, and Tu-95MS bombers.
Missiles were reported flying over Zakarpattia Oblast, which borders Ukraine’s western neighbors, including Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Air alerts warned that the city of Mukachevo, located just 26 kilometers northeast of the Hungary-Ukraine border, was under threat of missile attacks.
Russia reportedly launched 47 Shahed-type “kamikaze” drones and 53 missiles of various types, including 35 Kh-101/555 cruise missiles, four Iskander-M ballistic missiles, one Iskander-K cruise missile, 10 Kalibr cruise missiles, and three Kh-59/69 aerial missiles.
Ukrainian air defenses downed Kh-101/555 missiles, four Kalibr missiles, one Iskander-K missile, and 46 drones, the Air Force said.
Polish and other allied aircraft were scrambled in response to reports of the Russian missile attack against Ukraine, the Operational Command of Poland’s Armed Forces said on X.
Air raid alerts were turned off at 5:30 a.m. local time, and operations by Polish and allied aircraft concluded around 6:30 a.m.
In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in a renewed assault against the country’s energy grid.
Russia’s massive aerial assault follows the deadly bombing of the busy Kharkiv hypermarket in the middle of the day on May 25. The attack killed at least 19 people and injured 44. Hours later, a second Russian attack injured 25 people.
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