Russian missiles hit power facilities in six of Ukraine's regions on February 10 as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy returned from a tour of Western European capitals saying he had received "good signals" on his request for increased amounts of military aid.
Ukrainian officials said energy facilities were the main targets of missile and drone attacks that began early in the day. All but 10 of 71 missiles fired by Russian forces were shot down, said General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, commander of Ukraine's armed forces.
Five of seven drones also were brought down, he said.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said the missiles and drones that got through Ukraine's defenses hit power facilities in six regions, causing blackouts across most of Ukraine. He said technicians were working nonstop to restore energy supplies.
Oleh Synyehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said eight people had been wounded in the region. Two energy workers for DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, also were injured, the company said.
Russia for months has used a strategy of striking civilian infrastructure, especially the power grid, in order to deprive Ukrainians of electricity and leave them unable to heat their homes in the middle of winter. Some of the strikes have also hit water facilities.
The attacks on February 10 came as Zelenskiy returned from London, Paris, and Brussels, where he was enthusiastically received in speeches to lawmakers in which he repeated his call for Ukraine's allies to send more weapons, particularly fighter jets.
He said in all three capitals he spoke about the need to strengthen Ukrainian forces.
"There is an understanding that the protection of Ukraine is the protection of the interests and our partners," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on February 10. Now it is important, he said, "to transform everything we talked about and agreed upon into specific supplies, into specific documents, into specific new lines of cooperation."
He said this included long-range missiles, tanks, and "the next level of our cooperation -- fighter aircraft."
In recent weeks, Ukraine has received promises from Western countries for the provision of battle tanks to boost its forces, but it has been calling for even more advanced weaponry, including fighter jets and longer-range rockets.
Zelenskiy called his visits to the EU summit in Brussels and the European Parliament the "beginning of a new stage."
WATCH: Current Time reporter Borys Sachalko was with a Ukrainian frontline unit as reports came in of Russian troops advancing toward it. Using an armored personnel carrier, a rocket launcher, and small arms, the Ukrainians held the line.
Meanwhile, the White House announced that President Joe Biden will visit Poland later this month. Biden will travel February 20-22 and meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and members of the Bucharest Nine, a group of NATO members in Eastern Europe, said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
He will "discuss our bilateral cooperation as well as our collective efforts to support Ukraine and bolster NATO's deterrence," Jean-Pierre said.
Biden will give a speech to mark the February 24 "one-year anniversary of Russia's brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, addressing how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy," she added.
Biden's trip will coincide with a state-of-the-nation address in Moscow by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21.
Ukrainian and Western intelligence officials have been warning for several weeks that Moscow has been amassing forces in preparation for a renewed offensive -- especially in eastern Ukraine -- to claim successes after a series of setbacks in recent months.
