Local authorities also reported destruction in Kyiv, where two people were killed, as well as in Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Zaporizhzhia and other regions.  Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s energy system was one of the key targets of the latest attack.

Ukraine’s energy ministry said it had to in some parts of the country to save energy, while residents in at least five regions were still without electricity on Wednesday morning.

“The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively. This was one of the most vile strikes. Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge. And air defense packages for us right now are a vital necessity,” Zelenskyy added.

“Mr. Putin, is this what you wanted for your birthday? People killed in their sleep, injured children, shattered homes?” EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová wrote on Facebook.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraine has also burned a Russian oil tanker in the Black Sea, struck two oil facilities and a military training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions. The Russian defense ministry reported shooting down 311 drones over 16 Russian regions and the Black Sea.