KYIV, Ukraine — Russia again bombarded Ukrainian cities with missiles on Saturday morning, prompting Ukraine’s military to scramble fighter jets and people to take shelter in basements.
The attacks were a continuation of the Kremlin’s latest wartime strategy. Failing to make gains on the battlefield, Russia’s military has turned its firepower against Ukraine’s cities, targeting civilian infrastructure like power plants and heating systems in what appears to be an effort to heighten misery before the cold winter months.
Ukrainian officials confirmed missile strikes in at least half a dozen regions, though the extent of the damage could not immediately be determined.
“Yet another rocket attack from the terrorists, attacking civilian infrastructure and people,” Andriy Yermak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a post on the Telegram social media app.
Although Russia has aimed its rockets at cities and civilians throughout the war, not since the first days after the invasion in February has the bombing been so widespread and intense as it has been in recent weeks. Dozens of civilians have been killed as rockets have hit apartment buildings, bustling streets, parks and playgrounds. The attacks have damaged about 30 percent of Ukraine’s power plants, according to officials, causing rolling blackouts across the country.
On Saturday, the air raid alarms sounded around 7:30 a.m. in Kyiv and were followed quickly by reports of missiles in the air. Ukraine’s air force scrambled fighter jets and air defenses.
By midmorning, there were reports of missile strikes all over the country. In the city of Lutsk in western Ukraine, a missile hit a power plant, causing a blackout in part of the city, the mayor, Ihor Polishchuk, said on Telegram. The blast wave damaged a private home and injured at least one person, he said.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Mr. Zelensky, said that five rockets headed toward the capital, Kyiv, had been intercepted, though there were reports of missile strikes in the surrounding region.
