Russian Strikes Leave Over Dozen Dead in Ukraine

(MENAFN) At least 14 civilians were killed and roughly 60 more wounded Monday as Russian forces unleashed a barrage of attacks across Ukraine, striking energy infrastructure and residential areas in a single day of intensified violence.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko disclosed the toll via Telegram, stating that Russian forces carried out more than 70 separate shelling incidents spanning seven regions. He singled out the city of Merefa, in the battered Kharkiv region, as having "suffered the most."

The minister made clear the attacks were not confined to the front lines. "At the same time, Russia continues to attack the energy sector. Today in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions. These are not random strikes, but deliberate tactics to terrorize the civilian population," he said.

The assault on civilian infrastructure extended beyond military shelling. State energy giant Naftogaz confirmed that five of its facilities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions had been struck over the preceding 24-hour period.

"Due to damage to the equipment, we had to stop production processes," the company said on Telegram, warning that the destruction "complicates preparations for winter."

The strikes come as Ukrainian households brace for the cold season — raising alarm over the country's ability to sustain heating and power supply amid relentless bombardment.

Moscow has yet to issue any response to the Ukrainian allegations. As with much of the conflict, the claims could not be independently verified due to the active wartime conditions on the ground.

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