Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches massive missile and drone attack across Ukraine, at least 3 dead

Editor's note: This is a breaking story and will be updated regularly…

Explosions were heard in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on the morning of Aug. 26, as Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack, killing at least three people.

Air raid sirens sounded across the country just before 6 a.m. and an alert was still inplace at the time of writing.

Kyiv Independent reporters heard explosions in the city shortly before 8:30 a.m, with several more a few minutes later. More were heard just after 9:00 a.m. shortly after Ukraine's Air Force said Russian MiG-31s, used to launch Kinzhal ballistic missiles, were in the air.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were power outages in "several districts" of the capital, and later added there were problems with the water supply on the right bank of the city.

Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said infrastructure facilities in Kyiv Oblast had been hit, adding authorities were setting up "points of invincibility," communal station points that provide phone charging facilities and internet access for residents affected by power cuts.

Shortly after 9:00 a.m., DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said emergency power shutdowns were in place across Ukraine.

"The desire to destroy our energy sector will cost the Russians dearly for their infrastructure,"  Ukraine's Presidential Office head, Andriy Yermak, said in a post on Telegram.

Explosions were also heard in Kharkiv, the city's mayor Ihor Terekhov reported.

Explosions were also reported in Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kropyvnytskyi, and Kryvyi Rih, as well as in Lviv, Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.

In the city of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine, an apartment building was damaged, the city's mayor, Ihor Polishchuk, said. He later said one person had been killed.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Governor Serhii Lysak said a 69-year-old man had been killed as a result of the attack.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov said a man had been killed when a private residence was struck.

"The world must stop the terrorist country," he added.

In Mykolaiv Oblast, Governor Vitalii Kim, said three people had been injured.

In Lviv Oblast, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said energy infrastructure had been attacked and power outages were in place as a result.

Ukraine's Air Force initially reported the activity of 11 Russian bomber aircraft, as well as numerous kamikaze drones, heading towards cities across the country.

It then reported the launch of multiple groups of missiles of various types.

Later it said another six Russian bomber aircraft were in the air.

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The Kyiv IndependentChris York