The prolonged barrage began in midmorning and lasted for hours, hitting the capital of Kyiv, the western city of Lviv near Poland, and the port of Odesa on the Black Sea, among other population centers.

The attack began in midmorning and lasted for hours in the capital of Kyiv, the western city of Lviv near Poland, and the port of Odesa on the Black Sea, among other population centres, Zelanskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones smashed into another Russian refinery overnight, starting a fire that produced huge clouds of black smoke, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest long-range attack on Moscow’s vital oil industry.

Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn’t abided by its own ceasefire,

Ukrainian drones struck a Russian fuel depot, oil pumping station and a refinery in an escalating campaign of strikes against energy infrastructure often hundreds of miles inside Russia.

Ukraine’s ramped-up attacks on Russia's oil sector this year had led to production cuts and shortages, highlighting improved tactics and successes for Kyiv.