Many civilians have been killed as a result of Russia's massive missile attack campaign across Ukraine, which also knocked Europe's largest nuclear power plant off t

Many civilians have been killed as a result of Russia's massive missile attack campaign across Ukraine, which also knocked Europe's largest nuclear power plant off the grid for several hours.

The hypersonic cruise missiles, one of Moscow's most expensive weapons that can outrun air defenses, were used in the assault, making it the first large-scale attack in weeks.

"The occupants' only option is to terrorize people. They have no other options. But it won't help them," stated Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine. They won't try to escape accountability for their actions.

The Ukrainian military reported that 34 cruise missiles and four of the eight Iranian-made Shahed drones that were delivered were successfully shot down out of a total of 81 missiles that Russia is believed to have fired. Eight guided missiles missed their objective completely. Six hypersonic missiles, according to Ukraine, were used, and the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed this.

According to Ukraine's nuclear state operator Energoatom, the missile attacks caused the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility in southern Ukraine to lose electricity.

Since Russia took control of Europe's largest nuclear reactor months ago, it has experienced a blackout six times, forcing it to rely on diesel generators. For cooling systems to function, nuclear power plants require continuous power. The facility was reportedly restored to the grid hours later, according to Ukraine's electricity grid operator Ukrenergo.

"The risks of disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) are dramatically increasing, and our ability to react to them, to avert them are significantly diminishing," Oleh Korikov, acting chair of the Ukrainian state nuclear safety authority, told a news briefing on Thursday.

The loss of external power to the nuclear plant led to an extraordinary plea from the UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi for a protection zone around the plant – saying he was “astonished by the complacency” around the issue.

"We roll the dice every time. And if we continue to accept this, eventually our good fortune will run out, Mr. Grossi warned the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors, which consists of 35 nations (IAEA). This is the sixth occasion—let me say it again, the sixth occasion—that ZNPP has had to function in an emergency mode due to a complete loss of off-site electricity.

"Remember, this is Europe's largest nuclear power station. Who or what are we? How can we allow this to happen while sitting in this room this morning? This can't continue. The laziness astounds me, Mr. Grossi continued.

This was the longest time between attacks while Russia has been doing this against Ukraine's energy infrastructure for several months. It has prompted some observers to make assumptions about Russia's missile capabilities or whether Moscow will continue with a tactic that hasn't had the desired impact on eroding Ukrainian morale.

Over half of Kyiv was without heat after the most recent missile attack, with temperatures hovering around 9C. At the village of Zolochiv in the western Lviv area of Ukraine, at least five civilians were killed. In the central Dnipro region, another person was reportedly killed by the rockets. At Kherson, three civilians were reportedly killed by shelling on separate occasions.

The seven-hour warning during the night in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was the longest of Russia's five-month air campaign.

The "huge" missile barrage, according to Russia, was a "retaliatory strike" for a cross-border raid on a village in the Bryansk region of Russia last week. Ukraine accused Moscow of fabricating the event as a phony "provocation," but Russia claimed that two people were killed in the incident.

Ukraine is engaged in combat in eastern Ukraine near the Donetsk city of Bakhmut. After the conclusion of some of the heaviest combat of the war over the winter months, Russia is attempting to encircle Bakhmut to secure what would be its first significant gain in its invasion in more than six months. Russia views the conquest of the city of Donetsk as a first step toward gaining control of the larger Donbas, which includes the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk and is home to Ukraine's industrial core. Both Kyiv and the US have made an effort to minimize Bakhmut's strategic importance. To inflict heavy casualties while preparing for a counteroffensive when additional weapons from Western partners arrive, Ukrainian forces have mostly concentrated on defense.

“Each day of the defense of the town allows us to gain time to prepare reserves and prepare for future offensive operations,” said Oleksandr Sirskiy, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces. “The enemy loses the most prepared and combat-capable part of his army.”

Russia’s first missile barrage against Ukraine in weeks knocks nuclear plant off the grid for hours

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