Russia launched dozens of attack drones at the Ukrainian capital, officials said, in the latest of a series of air strikes that have battered Kyiv and its power grid.
No injuries were immediately reported in the December 1 attack. Ukrainian air defenses shot down about a dozen of the drones, military administrator Serhiy Popko said in a post to Telegram.
In the southern city of Kherson, however, Russian drones killed at least three people were killed and seven others were wounded, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Ukraine’s air force said 78 drones in total were launched at targets across the country overnight, and it claimed 32 of them were intercepted or downed. Another 45 drones were "locationally lost," the force said, as a result of electronic jamming.
For months now, Russia has pummeled Ukraine with both drones and missiles, targeting not only military sites but also energy infrastructure in what appears to be an effort to demoralize and exhaust the civilian population.
Experts have warned that large parts of Ukraine could face heating or power outages or blackouts during the winter.
Ukraine has used its own drones to target Russian infrastructure and other sites across the border. In the Bryansk region, a child was reportedly killed by a Ukrainian drone early December 1, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said in post to Telegram.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
In Kyiv, meanwhile, the European Union's newest top officials arrived in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian leadership. The trip by European Council President Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, came on their first day in their new roles.
"From day one of the war, the EU has stood by the side of Ukraine," Costa said in post to X. "From day one of our mandate, we are reaffirming our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people."
Both Kallas and Costa have been strong supporters of Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion, and their visit comes as Kyiv struggles to hold off a relentless Russian offensive across large parts of the 1,100-kilometer front line.
The European Union says its institutions and member countries have provided around $133 billion in aid to Ukraine since the start of the all-out invasion.
"In my first visit since taking up office, my message is clear: the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war," Kallas wrote on X. "We will do whatever it takes for that."
Speaking to reporters after talks with the visiting EU officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy argued that an invitation to join NATO was necessary for his country’s survival. And he said there was still time for the United States to convince "skeptics" in Europe about membership in the alliance.
NATO has stated that Ukraine should eventually become a member of the alliance, but resistance from some European allies has resulted in little progress toward that goal. For its part, Moscow has cited Ukraine's potential membership as one of several justifications for launching its all-out invasion.
Zelenskiy also told reporters that an invitation to join must apply to all of Ukraine's territory. However, he conceded that the alliance’s defensive arrangement could not apply to the occupied parts of Ukraine.