The Ukrainian Air Force says it managed to intercept 18 out of 51 missiles of various types launched during Monday morning's mass Russian air assault.
It said Russia had launched 32 cruise missiles, as well as eight Iranian-made "Shahed" drones in the direction of Odesa and Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, and that all the drones had been shot down.
"Critical infrastructure facilities, industrial civilian and military facilities were attacked," the air force said, adding that it had detected 12 Russian bombers taking off from Russian territory.
Reporting from Kyiv, DW's Sonia Phalnikar said: "Most cities, including Kyiv, seem to have been spared the kind of massive damage when Russia launched a huge aerial bombardment of multiple Ukrainian cities in late December and earlier this year."
However, she cautioned that Ukraine's reliance on western air defense systems is greater than ever.
"The fear is that, if Moscow continues this pace and intensity of aerial assaults, we could see a scenario where Ukraine could be left without air protection. There is a real sense of urgency, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urging western partners to provide more air defense systems, missiles and ammunition and saying that there is no Plan B if this does not happen," she said.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Produkin said that Russian troops have conducted 131 artillery attacks in the past 24 hours, killing two people and injuring five more.
Ukraine reports at least 3 dead in mass missile assault
The death toll from Monday morning's Russian missile assault on Ukrainian cities has risen to at least three, according to Ukrainian officials and media reports.
Two people were killed when at least six missiles struck critical infrastructure in the western Khmelnytskyi region, said officials.
Regional authorities in the northeastern Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, said a 62-year-old woman had been killed after a missile attack "on a house."
Earlier, Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne had reported that a woman was killed outside the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, where a further 24 people were injured, including five children.
Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul reported that 15,000 residents were without power and that local trams and trolleybuses were not running.
"The mad enemy once again struck civilians," local governor Serhiy Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging app, claiming Russia "directed missiles at people."
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kubela said: "The enemy fired dozens of missiles at towns and villages," confirming at least 33 injuries across the country.
The mass assault on Monday morning came as temperatures across Ukraine plummeted to between -11°C and -20°C (-12°F – -4°F).
Belgorod parents requesting evacuation of children – governor
In the last 24 hours, local authorities in the Russian city of Belgorod have received "1,300 requests" to evacuate children to school camps outside the city, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Gladkov said he had already established contact with his colleagues in the nearby regions of Voronezh, Kaluga, Tambov and Yaroslavl. "They are all ready to help us," he said.
Belgorod, located near the Ukrainian border, has been the target of increasing Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks. On Monday morning, the Russian ministry of defense said its forces had "intercepted" a Ukrainian S-200 missile "above the Belgorod region."
In a further sign of growing concern in the border region, local authorities have also postponed children's return to school, scheduled for January 9, until January 19.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is standing for re-election this year, with support for his war among the general population dependent on it not affecting everyday life in Russia.
Russia 'viciously attacking peaceful cities' – Ukrainian official
Ukrainian authorities have reported initial casualties sustained during a large-scale Russian missile attack on Monday morning.
A woman was killed just outside the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and at least 24 people, including five children, were injured in the town of Novomoskovsk, just north of the city of Dnipro, according to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.
"The enemy is viciously attacking peaceful cities," said Oleksandr Vilkul, mayor of Kryvyi Rih, where more than 20 houses and a shopping center were damaged.
At least four people were injured in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv , when industrial facilities were hit by four missiles, resulting in a fire, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram messaging app.
Officials from the southeastern Zaporizhzhia city council said that at least five blasts had resulted in at least two injuries. "Missiles hit residential areas," regional governor Yuriy Malaskho said on Telegram.
Military officials in other cities, including Khmelnytskyi, have also said their cities were under a "massive missile attack" by Russia while air raid sirens sounded in the capital, Kyiv.
Nearly two years into the war that Russia started with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both sides are struggling to make significant gains on the frontlines in the east and southeast of Ukraine and have shifted to increased air strikes against each other's territories.
Russia launches massive missile assault across Ukraine
Several Ukrainian cities were targeted by the Russian Air Force in a large-scale missile attack on Monday morning, the Ukrainian military said.
The Ukrainian Air Force posted a warning reading: "Kyiv – shelter!" on the Telegram messaging app, saying the capital was under threat of ballistic missile strikes.
Military officials in Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Khmelnytskyi also said their cities were under a "massive missile attack" while there were reports of explosions in the south-eastern city of Dnipro.
Germany's dpa news agency, citing local observers, reported that cruise missiles – including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles – were launched from at least a dozen strategic bomber aircraft.
Air raid alerts were in place across the entire country.
