KYIV, Feb 9 - Overnight strikes by Russian forces across Ukraine resulted in multiple civilian deaths, widespread injuries and significant disruptions to energy and transport infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, prosecutors reported that a mother and her 10-year-old son were killed when a residential area in the town of Bohodukhiv was struck. The regional prosecutor's office said a total of six people were wounded in the incident. Kharkiv's region has been repeatedly targeted during the nearly four-year conflict that began with Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine's Air Force provided an overnight tally, saying Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles and 149 drones against the country. Of the drones, 116 were shot down or neutralised, and some missiles were intercepted before they could reach their intended targets, the Air Force said.
In the south, a "massive" drone attack on the port city of Odesa killed one person and injured two others, regional governor Oleh Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Kiper said residential infrastructure and a gas pipeline suffered damage in the assault.
In the northern Chernihiv region, a drone strike killed a 71-year-old man and wounded at least four more, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said. Chaus said the assault struck while people were resting overnight, adding that some buildings were destroyed and others damaged. He said,
"People were asleep."
Authorities in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region reported that nine people were injured in a separate drone strike, including a 13-year-old girl, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
In western Volyn region, which borders NATO member Poland, local officials reported damage to a high-voltage substation near the city of Novovolynsk. Mayor Borys Karpus said the strike left more than 80,000 consumers without power. He said critical infrastructure in the city was operating on generator power while crews worked to restore electricity.
Rail infrastructure also suffered new attacks overnight, Ukrainian National Railways said, with damage reported in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
Officials said the strikes continued even as U.S.-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were underway. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the Trump administration wants Moscow and Kyiv to find a solution on how to end the war before the summer.
Ukrainian authorities and local officials noted a broader pattern of sustained strikes on energy systems. Since autumn 2025, Moscow has stepped up attacks on the Ukrainian power grid and other energy facilities, at times leaving millions without electricity and heating in freezing conditions, according to the accounts provided by Ukrainian authorities.
Context and immediate effects
The latest barrage combined missile and drone strikes that produced civilian casualties, damaged residential and energy infrastructure, and disrupted rail services. Large-scale outages followed targeted damage to a high-voltage substation in Volyn, forcing local critical services to rely on generators.
Response and defensive operations
Ukraine's Air Force reported extensive air-defence activity overnight, claiming to have neutralised most of the attacking drones and to have intercepted several missiles. Local governors and prosecutors provided casualty and damage reports from the affected regions.
Human toll
At least four people were killed across multiple regions. The fatalities included the mother and her 10-year-old son in Bohodukhiv, one person in Odesa and a 71-year-old man in Chernihiv. Dozens more were reported wounded in separate strikes.
The strikes underline the vulnerability of civilian energy and transport networks to sustained aerial attacks and the continuing human cost of the conflict as officials work to repair infrastructure and restore services.