Summary
At least three people have been killed after Russia launched a massive attack across Ukraine, wiping out some power and water supplies

Explosions rocked several cities including Kyiv earlier, as more than half the country’s regions came under attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that more than 100 missiles and about 100 attack drones were launched by Russia overnight

Russia claims it used high-precision weapons to hit critical infrastructure

Power outages have been reported in many Ukrainian cities and water supplies disrupted

An air raid alert for the entire country has been reduced, and now covers much of the east and centre of Ukraine

Live Reporting
Edited by Alex Binley and Adam Durbin

LIVE stream page 1
Drones still in Ukraine airspace, air force sayspublished at 11:33 British Summer Time
Ukraine’s air force has just issued another update, saying attack drones are still flying over Ukraine’s airspace.

Posting on Telegram, the air force says several groups of drones are headed to the town of Vasylkiv in Kyiv region.

It also says drones have been detected to the north of the city Cherkasy in central Ukraine, as well as Poltava and Sumy regions in the country’s east.

Mobile anti-drone units and air defence protecting Kyivpublished at 11:23 British Summer Time
Abdujalil Abdurasulov
Reporting from Kyiv

Ukrainian mobile anti-drone units – pick up trucks with a heavy machine gun installed in the back – took positions at key locations in Kyiv as the authorities announced Russian drones approaching the capital and other cities across Ukraine.

Gunshots and explosions rocked the capital shortly after. It was Ukrainian air defence systems trying to shoot down Russian missiles.

According to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Russia launched not just drones and cruise missiles but Kinzhal ballistic missiles as well, which are much harder to intercept.

Shmyhal says the country’s energy infrastructure was among the main targets and some facilities were hit during the attack.

This appears to be another attempt from Moscow to disrupt energy supplies in the country ahead of the winter.

Since March, Russia has damaged dozens of facilities, which resulted in the loss of half of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity and about 80% of its thermal power generation capacity.

More than 100 missiles and drones used in attack – Zelenskypublished at 11:05 British Summer Time
Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelensky has just issued an update, in which he says that more than 100 missiles and about 100 attack drones were launched by Russia overnight.

He says that the primary target was “critical civilian infrastructure” in most of Ukraine’s regions, citing attacks on Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa and western areas.

In a post on Telegram, Zelensky adds that there has been a lot of damage to energy facilities, but says repair work is underway and repair crews will “work around the clock” to restore power.

He goes on to call on Western allies to send Ukraine to use long-range weapons and allow them to hit areas in Russia from which attacks are launched:

Quote Message

Ukraine must not have restrictions on the range when terrorists have none. Defenders of life must have no restrictions on using weapons.”

Energy infrastructure was a target, confirms Russian militarypublished at 10:56 British Summer Time
We’ve been bringing you news that water and power infrastructure seems to have been targeted by drones and missile strikes in today’s attack.

Russian military sources have now confirmed that they used “high-precision weapons” to strike “important energy infrastructure” in Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency.

The infrastructure was supporting the Ukrainian “military-industrial complex”, the Russian sources say.

Fifteen regions and energy infrastructure targeted, Ukraine PM sayspublished at 10:40 British Summer Time
A little while ago, the prime minister of Ukraine gave an update on the scale of Russia’s deadly attacks.

Denys Shmyhal says 15 regions of the country were attacked by Russia, which used drones, cruise missiles and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

In a post on the Telegram messaging platform, he adds that the main targets appear to have been Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, reporting damage in a “number of regions”.

Shmyhal says Ukraine’s state-run energy company has been forced to use emergency power cuts to stabilise the grid in the wake of the strikes.

The PM ends his post by repeating Ukraine’s call for western long-range weapon systems and the permission from allies to use them on Russian soil, arguing Ukraine needs to be able to strike at the places where attacks are launched from.

In pictures: Kyiv residents shelter from Russian offensivepublished at 10:26 British Summer Time
Russia’s attack has forced residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv into metro stations in search of shelter.

Two children and a women sheltering in a metro stationImage source, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

A child and a women sheltering in a metro stationImage source, Reuters

A girl strokes a dog while sheltering in a metro stationImage source, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

Ukraine occupying parts of Russia’s Kursk regionpublished at 10:11 British Summer Time
This morning’s wave of missile and drone strikes comes nearly three weeks into a Ukrainian offensive on Russian territory.

Ukraine launched its cross-border attack into the Kursk region on 6 August, and has since claimed to control over 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of Russian land.

An estimated 10,000 elite Ukrainian troops burst across the poorly defended border, taking more ground in a matter of days than Russia had won in Ukraine so far this year.

Tens of thousands of Russian civilians have been evacuated as the fighting has intensified.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Kursk operation aimed to capture Russian soldiers – which led to a prisoner swap and the release of 115 Ukrainians in exchange for the same number of Russians on Saturday.

He has also said it was a preventative strike to deter Russian attacks towards the bordering Sumy region of Ukraine, as well as stating there are other goals he could not disclose.

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a damaged building in the city center of Sudzha,Image source, EPA

Image caption,
A Ukrainian serviceman in the city centre of Sudzha, in Russia’s Kursk region

Russian drones currently targeting several regions, Ukraine’s air force sayspublished at 09:59 British Summer Time
Russia’s aerial barrage across Ukraine is not over, with the Ukrainian Air Force recently warning that attack drones are headed to several different places around the country.

In an update on the Telegram messaging platform, it says that several groups of attack drones are headed for the capital Kyiv.

The air force also warns that drones appear to be targeting the Vinnytsia, Poltava and Mykolaiv regions around Ukraine.

Three killed as Russia launches huge aerial attack across Ukrainepublished at 09:54 British Summer Time
Ukrainian emergency services conduct a search and rescue operation among rubble of a buildingImage source, Reuters

Image caption,
Ukrainian emergency services search through the rubble of a building targeted in recent days

We can bring you the latest from the ground this morning as Russia carries out a massive aerial attack on Ukraine.

Here’s what you need to know to bring you up to speed:

A barrage of drone and missile attacks began across the country overnight on Monday
Explosions rang out in several cities across 15 regions according to Ukraine’s prime minister
Regional officials say at least three people have been killed
The entire country is under air raid alert
We’re seeing blackouts as the Russian strikes target power and water infrastructure
Residents of Kyiv are seeking shelter in metro stations
Ukraine’s neighbour, Poland, says that its air force has been activated because the strikes have come close to Polish airspace
We’re hearing that Ukraine has countered with drone attacks of its own, but on a much smaller scale