The attacks came 10 months into President Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...'s invasion of Ukraine, with Russian strikes targeting the energy grid, leaving millions in the cold in the middle of winter.
Ukraine's air force said on Friday morning that Russia's overnight assault was made with "Iranian-made kamikaze drones".
A total of 16 drones were launched from the southeastern and northern directions and they were "all" destroyed by Ukraine's air defence, it said.
The presidency said Ukraine "withstood" the new drone attacks, which targeted infrastructure.
In the capital Kyiv, city authorities announced an air alert shortly after 2:00 am local time.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko later said seven drones had targeted the capital. Two were shot down "on approach" and five over the city.
There were no casualties, but falling debris damaged windows in two buildings in southwestern Kyiv, he added.
One of the drones hit a four-storey administrative building, starting a fire that was later extinguished, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office.
- BARRAGE OF MISSILES -
The drone attack came after a barrage of Russian missiles battered Ukraine on Thursday morning, with blasts reported across the vast country, from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to Lviv in the west near the Polish border.
Ukraine's army said Russia had launched several dozen cruise missiles, the majority of which had been shot down.
Russia's defence ministry said Friday it had carried out a "massive strike" the day earlier on military command and energy facilities.
"All assigned targets were reached," according to the ministry.
Tymoshenko said four non-combatants were killed and eight received injuries on Thursday.
On Friday, three people were killed by Russian shelling, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said most regions were left without power following Thursday's attack.
Ukraine's energy operator said Friday the damage had a "much smaller impact" on the power grid than "the enemy expected" and the power deficit was back to the levels before Thursday's attack.
But "the situation in the southern and eastern regions is still difficult," Ukrenergo added.
Russia has faced international condemnation and an onslaught of unprecedented sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
The growing international isolation has forced Putin to seek closer political and economic cooperation with nations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
