Five dead in significant Russian missile and drone strike, according to Zelensky.

Five individuals have lost their lives and tens of thousands are without power in Ukraine following severe missile and drone strikes from Russia last night, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A strike in the village of Lapaivka claimed the lives of four family members, including a 15-year-old girl, as assaults predominantly targeted the western Lviv region.

Poland, Ukraine’s neighbor, dispatched fighter jets to secure Polish airspace, according to the Polish military. NATO allies also deployed aircraft.

The Russian defense ministry announced that it had successfully executed a “massive” strike on Ukrainian military and infrastructure sites.

Additionally, one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia. Zelensky indicated that Russia launched over 50 missiles and approximately 500 attack drones. Ukraine’s air force reported a total of 549.

Lviv experienced multiple hours of attacks, resulting in the suspension of public transport services and power outages.

Maksym Kozytskyi, the regional head of Lviv, remarked that this was the most significant attack on the area since Russia commenced its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He noted that around 163 drones and missiles were detected in the vicinity.

One family member sustained injuries, along with two neighbors, in the attack that killed their relatives in Lapaivka.

Alongside Lviv and Zaporizhzhia, regions such as Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Kirovohrad were also hit, according to Zelensky.

He further stated: “We require enhanced protection and expedited execution of all defense agreements, particularly regarding air defense, to render this aerial terror meaningless.

“A unilateral ceasefire in the skies is attainable – and it is exactly that which could pave the way for genuine diplomacy.”

The Russian strikes followed days after a US official indicated that the US would back Ukraine in launching significant strikes within Russian territory.

“Polish and allied aircraft are operating within our airspace, while ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been elevated to the highest state of readiness,” said Poland’s operational command in a statement on X.

At 05:10 (02:10 GMT), all of Ukraine was placed under air raid alerts after warnings from the Ukrainian Air Force regarding potential Russian missile and drone strikes.

Russia continues to direct its assaults against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as the onset of winter nears.

Kyiv’s energy ministry reported that overnight strikes caused damage in Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, and Sumy.

In Zaporizhzhia, Russia’s night raid rendered “over 73,000 consumers… without electricity” after hitting a power plant, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.

A woman was killed, and several others were injured in the region.

A 16-year-old girl was among those receiving medical care, Fedorov noted, sharing pictures that seemingly depict a partially devastated multi-storey building and a burnt vehicle from the attack site.

Emergency outages were initiated in Chernihiv and Sumy, the energy ministry stated.

Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, mentioned that a part of the city – 70 km (43 miles) from the Polish border – experienced power outages, adding that the city’s air defense systems were heavily involved in repelling an initial drone and subsequently a missile strike from Russia.

Ukraine’s air force reported direct hits from eight Russian missiles and 57 drones at 20 different locations across the country, as well as debris from downed munitions at six sites.

It stated that 478 missiles and drones were intercepted, with six failing to reach their intended destinations.

Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, another city in the west, is set to “begin operating later than normal” on Sunday, the mayor reported.

Around 06:00 (03:00 GMT), Ukraine’s Air Force stated that the entire country was at risk of new Russian missile attacks after a series of air raid alerts and warnings about drone and missile strikes.

Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces have occupied a majority of the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, incorporating Luhansk and Donetsk.

Currently, Russia controls approximately one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014.

In Russia, air defense units reported the destruction of 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the state-owned RIA news agency on Sunday, referencing information from Russia’s defense ministry.

Ukraine, in return, has increased its assaults on Russian oil refineries, resulting in fuel shortages in various regions of the country.

Last week, Keith Kellogg, the US Special Envoy to Ukraine, stated on Fox News that the US would support Ukraine in executing deep strikes within Russian territories.

“The answer is affirmative, utilize the capability to strike deep; there are no such things as sanctuaries,” Kellogg responded when asked if it was President Donald Trump’s stance that Ukraine could conduct long-range attacks.