Russia has continued its missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, targeting primarily civilians and critical infrastructure.
In one such strike in capital Kyiv, three people were including, including two people from the same household, one of whom was a pregnant woman.
In other attacks, Russia struck close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, shutting external power to the plant yet again. External power is essential to keep the plant safe. It's the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
Russia is widely using Iranian suicide drones, named Shahed, which are commonly called 'kamikaze drones'.
"In the past 13 hours, Ukrainian Army shot down 37 Iranian Shahed-136 drones and three cruise missiles launched by Russian terrorists," said Ukrainian Defence Ministry in a tweet on Monday afternoon.
Russian barrage across Ukraine
The blasts set fire to Kyiv buildings and sent people scurrying to air raid shelters. Some tried to shoot down the kamikazes.
One of the drones slammed into a residential building, killing three people, according to the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
The Russian military said they used “long-range air and sea-based high precision weapons” to strike Ukraine's military and energy facilities.
The attack came a week after Russia unleashed its most widespread strikes against the country in months and as Moscow struggles to halt a Ukrainian battlefield counteroffensive.
Three people were also killed in Ukraine's Sumy.
Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones struck at least 10 regions across Ukraine. The barrage left 19 dead and more than 100 wounded in the most extensive attacks since the early days after the Russian invasion began on February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian attacks on critical infrastructure
Besides civilian buildings, energy facilities were also targeted as Russia tries to disrupt Ukraine's heating supply as winter approaches.
Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom says external power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was once again cut off due to shelling by Russian forces.
The attack on Monday struck a power substation on Ukrainian territory that supplies power to the plant, Energoatom said. The plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. While it six reactors have been shut down due to the fighting, it needs power supply to ensure critical safety systems remain operational.
Those power supplies have been repeatedly taken offline, forcing the plant's operator to temporarily use diesel generators to power the safety systems.
Energoatom repeated its call for a demilitarisation of the plant and the withdrawal of Russian forces that surround it.
Fears of fresh Russia incursion from North
Russian soldiers in large numbers have been stationed in Belarus, to the north of Ukraine, on the pretext of military exercises.
However, it has raised concerns that these troops might attack Ukraine from the north. This would be problematic for Ukraine, whose forces are already stretched in eastern and souhtern Ukraine, where they are leading a counter-offensive and also holding Russian advances in multiple fronts.
"The last time Belarusian and Russian forces held joint exercises, in February, many of those Russian forces went on to cross the Ukrainian border in their ill-fated drive toward the capital," noted CNN.
(With AP inputs)
