Russia's attack on Ukraine included targeting a hydropower plant within the Kyiv region, an official from Ukraine says.

Ukrainian foreign ministry official Andriy Sybiha posted on X an hour ago, external pointing to the target.

He writes: "Today’s Russian attack—100+ missiles & nearly 100 drones—targeted civilian Ukrainian infrastructure, including Kyiv HPP.

"Tragically, there are casualties," he adds, without providing further detail.

Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko has spoken to our colleagues at Radio 4's World at One, describing Kyiv this morning as having been "loud".

She explains that although the sound of explosions indicate Ukraine's air defence system is working, the capital's residents "never know when the remains of the Shahed [attack drones] or of the Russian missiles are going to drop".

"I think this is the goal that Russia is pursuing now, to target as many infrastructure objects as possible, to make sure that Ukraine is kept in the dark and in the cold through this winter," she tells the programme.

We've just had an update from Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv's military administration, about the scale of the aerial attack on the capital.

Almost 20 enemy drones heading for the capital were "detected and destroyed" he says, adding that they were engaged by Ukrainian air defences on their approaches to the capital.

The falling wreckage of one drone led to car fire that injured its driver, Popko also says.

Fifteen of Ukraine's regions have been targeted by Russian strikes, with fires breaking out and buildings damaged in many places.

Ukraine's authorities and reporters on the ground have shared some pictures of people working to dampen the flames and search rubble for survivors and victims:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Polish authorities are searching for an object that flew into the country’s airspace during Russia’s attack on Ukraine this morning.

The Polish armed forces operational command says the object is not a missile and is probably a drone.

General Maciej Klisz says the object entered Polish airspace at 06:43 local time (05:43 BST).

The search for the object is being conducted in the Tyszowce municipality, close to the Ukrainian border.

The object was tracked on radar but contact was lost shortly afterwards. Maj Klisz has not ruled out that it may have left Polish airspace.

Paul Adams
BBC World Affairs

It’s a measure of how long Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have been going on that this morning’s massive barrage was described as “usual business” by one Kyiv-based energy expert.

Since the very start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, two and a half years ago, Ukraine’s power grid has been the focus of repeated, even relentless attacks.

The country is bracing itself for a third full winter of such attacks, which have targeted every part of the grid, including substations and major power plants.

Ukraine has weathered the storm, but Russia’s assault has grown in sophistication, often using coordinated strikes by drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles in an attempt to penetrate and degrade Ukraine’s air-defences.

In March, the operational director of the energy company DTEK said Russia’s missile attacks were increasingly accurate, with devastating results.

In Kyiv, residents reported blackouts this morning, after a month of almost uninterrupted power.

Cold weather is still some way off, but with half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity destroyed (as of June this year), the country is bracing itself for another tough winter.

Thomas Copeland
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Details are still emerging about Russia's overnight aerial attack on Ukraine, but here's what we know so far:

• At least six people have been killed across multiple regions, local authorities say
• President Zelensky says that more than 100 missiles and about 100 drones were used
• The Russian military confirmed the attack targeted energy infrastructure and "high-precision weapons" were deployed
• Blackouts have been reported in cities across Ukraine and the state-run energy company has cut power to stabilise the national grid

• In the capital city of Kyiv residents were forced to shelter in metro stations

We've just heard from the military administration in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, which has announced a 47-year-old man has been killed in Russian shelling of the city of Nikopol.

This takes the overall death toll from Russia's attacks today to at least six.

In a post on Telegram, the administration's head Serhiy Lysak says six people have been taken to hospital with injuries, including a 14-year-old girl.

He has also shared pictures of the site of the attack, saying that a supermarket, a high rise building and several cars have been damaged.

Image source, Serhiy Lysak/Telegram

An air raid alert has been issued in the city of Kyiv again.

In a post on Telegram, the head of the city's military administration, Serhiy Popko, says drones are headed for the capital.

He warns civilians to head to shelters for cover.

Image source, Reuters

Roman, who lives in Kyiv's western Solomianskyi district, told the BBC that "it was very loud this morning".

He says he heard three very strong blasts so close that it felt like they were "above my head".

"Friends also told me they saw missiles being shot down," he says.

Roman adds that there are no power outages right now, but he had no running water for a few hours.

A short while ago we heard from a spokesman for the Russian government, who says there are not currently any ceasefire negotiations ongoing with Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells reporters that the "topic of negotiations with Ukraine has pretty much lost its relevance".

He also says Russia is responding to Ukraine's recent incursion into the Kursk region.

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you a few more details now on the five people reportedly killed in Russia's overnight aerial attack:

• A 69-year-old man was killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region, regional head Sergiy Lysak said
• Another man was killed when his house was hit in Zaporizhzhia, said the regional head
• The mayor of Lutsk said one person had been killed when an "infrastructure facility" was hit
• In Izyum in Kharkiv region, a man was killed in a missile strike, the regional head said
• And in Zhytomyr region in western Ukraine, a woman died after homes and infrastructure buildings were hit by missiles, the regional head said

A little earlier we had an update from Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration.

He says Ukraine's air defences shot down around 15 missiles and 15 drones targeting the capital city of Kyiv during Russia's overnight attack.

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's air force has just issued another update, saying attack drones are still flying over Ukraine's airspace.

Posting on Telegram, the air force says several groups of drones are headed to the town of Vasylkiv in Kyiv region.

It also says drones have been detected to the north of the city Cherkasy in central Ukraine, as well as Poltava and Sumy regions in the country's east.

Abdujalil Abdurasulov
Reporting from Kyiv

Ukrainian mobile anti-drone units – pick up trucks with a heavy machine gun installed in the back – took positions at key locations in Kyiv as the authorities announced Russian drones approaching the capital and other cities across Ukraine.

Gunshots and explosions rocked the capital shortly after. It was Ukrainian air defence systems trying to shoot down Russian missiles.

According to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Russia launched not just drones and cruise missiles but Kinzhal ballistic missiles as well, which are much harder to intercept.

Shmyhal says the country’s energy infrastructure was among the main targets and some facilities were hit during the attack.

This appears to be another attempt from Moscow to disrupt energy supplies in the country ahead of the winter.

Since March, Russia has damaged dozens of facilities, which resulted in the loss of half of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity and about 80% of its thermal power generation capacity.

Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelensky has just issued an update, in which he says that more than 100 missiles and about 100 attack drones were launched by Russia overnight.

He says that the primary target was "critical civilian infrastructure" in most of Ukraine's regions, citing attacks on Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa and western areas.

In a post on Telegram, Zelensky adds that there has been a lot of damage to energy facilities, but says repair work is underway and repair crews will "work around the clock" to restore power.

He goes on to call on Western allies to send Ukraine to use long-range weapons and allow them to hit areas in Russia from which attacks are launched:

We've been bringing you news that water and power infrastructure seems to have been targeted by drones and missile strikes in today's attack.

Russian military sources have now confirmed that they used "high-precision weapons" to strike "important energy infrastructure" in Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency.

The infrastructure was supporting the Ukrainian "military-industrial complex", the Russian sources say.

A little while ago, the prime minister of Ukraine gave an update on the scale of Russia's deadly attacks.

Denys Shmyhal says 15 regions of the country were attacked by Russia, which used drones, cruise missiles and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

In a post on the Telegram messaging platform, he adds that the main targets appear to have been Ukraine's energy infrastructure, reporting damage in a "number of regions".

Shmyhal says Ukraine's state-run energy company has been forced to use emergency power cuts to stabilise the grid in the wake of the strikes.

The PM ends his post by repeating Ukraine's call for western long-range weapon systems and the permission from allies to use them on Russian soil, arguing Ukraine needs to be able to strike at the places where attacks are launched from.

Russia's attack has forced residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv into metro stations in search of shelter.

Image source, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

This morning's wave of missile and drone strikes comes nearly three weeks into a Ukrainian offensive on Russian territory.

Ukraine launched its cross-border attack into the Kursk region on 6 August, and has since claimed to control over 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of Russian land.

An estimated 10,000 elite Ukrainian troops burst across the poorly defended border, taking more ground in a matter of days than Russia had won in Ukraine so far this year.

Tens of thousands of Russian civilians have been evacuated as the fighting has intensified.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Kursk operation aimed to capture Russian soldiers - which led to a prisoner swap and the release of 115 Ukrainians in exchange for the same number of Russians on Saturday.

He has also said it was a preventative strike to deter Russian attacks towards the bordering Sumy region of Ukraine, as well as stating there are other goals he could not disclose.

Image source, EPA