LAST UPDATE | 5 Oct

FIVE PEOPLE HAVE been killed in Russian strikes in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region and Lviv in the west of the country. 

The intense bombardment also badly damaged energy infrastructure, severing power supplies to tens of thousands of people. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as the weather chills.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Russia launched “yet another barrage of missiles and drones” last night in the Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernigiv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions. 

Lviv has been the area that the Russian military has targeted less since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“In Lviv, four people were killed and four others injured. In Zaporizhzhia, one person was killed and 10 injured after Russia targeted residential areas with drones and aerial bombs. Across all affected areas, residential buildings and critical infrastructure were damaged.”

Residents stand near the crater in front of a house destroyed by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Ivan Fedorov, the head of the Zaporizhzhia region, earlier said a 16-year-old girl was among those receiving “necessary assistance” from medical personnel after the attack.

There were widespread power outages in the city as energy equipment was damaged, the service provider said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the overnight attack saw over 50 missiles and about 500 attack drones fired at his country.

Last night, Ukraine once again came under a combined Russian attack – more than 50 missiles and about 500 attack drones. The Russians struck with cruise missiles, “shaheds” and Kinzhals among other things. The Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv,… pic.twitter.com/lcRrBTqXF1

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2025

“The Russians once again targeted our infrastructure – everything that ensures normal life for our people. We need more protection and faster implementation of all defence agreements, especially on air defence, to deprive this aerial terror of any meaning,” he said. 

A nationwide air alert was in place across Ukraine as of 4.09am (2.09am Irish time).

Poland’s armed forces meanwhile said on X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country’s airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.

The mayor of Lviv, a western Ukrainian city near the border with Poland, said public transport routes were not operating due to a “massive enemy attack”.

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An elderly woman reacts next to the house destroyed by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, another western city, would “start running later than usual” on Sunday, its mayor said.

Fedorov said that Russia’s overnight attack left “more than 73,000 consumers” without electricity in Zaporizhzhia, and the Lviv mayor said part of the city had no power.

This week, Moscow launched its largest-ever strike on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, while strikes on Saturday cut off power to around 50,000 households in the northern Chernigiv region.

Separately, Russian drones on a Ukrainian railway station on Saturday killed one person and injured over 30. 

With reporting from © AFP 2025