Russia launched ‘large-scale’ attacks across Ukraine, killing three people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia carried out large-scale attacks on several Ukrainian cities overnight, a day after warning of attacks over the Christmas period.

Ukrainian officials said at least three people, including a 4-year-old child, were killed and energy infrastructure was also attacked, knocking out power to several regions.

Russia launched 635 drones and 38 missiles, of which 621 were shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

“People want to be safe at home with their families ahead of Christmas,” Zelenskyy said, adding the strike sent “a very clear signal about Russia’s priorities” despite ongoing peace talks.

He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin “still cannot accept that he has to stop the killings,” adding, “This means the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia.”

Zelenskyy has previously warned that it is the Kremlin’s “nature” to “carry out large-scale attacks” during the festivities.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.

Local authorities in the central Zhytomyr region confirmed the child’s death.

“The child was taken to the hospital and doctors fought for his life, but in the end they could not save him,” said regional representative Vitaly Bunetzko. Five other people were injured in the strike, he added.

Meanwhile, a 76-year-old woman was killed and three others injured when a house in the Kiev region was attacked, according to Ukraine’s National Emergency Services Agency.

Serhiy Tyurin, the 72-year-old head of the regional administration, was killed in the attack in Khmelnytskyi, western Ukraine, he said.

Polish warplanes scrambled in response to missiles and drones targeting western Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it targeted “military-industrial complex factories and support energy facilities” in Ukraine. He added that all designated targets were hit.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reportedly attacked a petrochemical plant in Stravropol, southern Russia.

Video shared online by a Russian media channel shows large flames shooting out from the direction of the factory.

The region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said a Ukrainian drone crashed into the factory, causing a fire. There were no casualties and the residential building was left undamaged.

“It was a very unpleasant experience,” Oleksandr Chyrvonyi, who lives in the city of Zaporizhzhia, close to the front lines, told the BBC on Monday night.

“I slept for about four or five hours. The constant notifications of drones and cruise missiles waking me up.” He added that most of them passed through his city and went to the western and central regions.

Power outages are the new normal. Zaporizhzhia has electricity for about 10 hours out of 24, he said.

He went on to say that although there is a “general feeling of lack of civilization,” he tries to have “an illusion of a normal life.”

With temperatures expected to drop to -7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, Ukraine’s energy operator warned of emergency power cuts “in all regions” and urged people to use energy “sparingly.”

Acting Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said it was the ninth major attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and led to an “almost complete” loss of supplies in the Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnitsky regions.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko told the BBC World Service that power could be cut in some areas “for several days.”

The main focus of recent Russian attacks has been the southern port city of Odessa after President Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.

The Russian president has threatened retaliation for Ukrainian drone attacks on oil tankers belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” – vessels used to transport goods, including oil, under Western sanctions.

Many suspect the overnight attack in the Ukrainian capital was linked to the killing of a top Russian general on Monday after a car bomb exploded in Moscow.

The explosion killed Lieutenant General Panil Sarbarov, the head of the Russian military’s operational training department, and Russia blamed Ukraine. Kiev did not comment.

It also comes after recent US-led diplomatic talks in Miami, where envoys from Washington and Kiev are drafting detailed proposals to end the war.

According to Representative Zelensky, the United States proposed a Christmas truce, but Russia rejected it.

Prime Minister Zelenskyy received a report on the progress of the talks on Tuesday morning and said “several draft documents have now been prepared,” including a framework for ending the war, ensuring Ukraine’s future security and post-war recovery.

Putin was also scheduled to be briefed on Tuesday by special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on recent discussions with Washington.

Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy