A series of Russian drone and missile strikes hit multiple regions of Ukraine on the morning of November 19, triggering widespread explosions and emergency power outages, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian media reported that blasts were heard across the Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions as the attacks targeted eastern and western Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian attack struck multi-story residential buildings in Ternopil, killing at least 9 people and injuring dozens of others.
Zelenskyy added that as emergency services worked through the morning to deal with the aftermath, there might still be people trapped under the rubble.
"Every brazen attack on ordinary life shows that the pressure on Russia is insufficient," he wrote on Telegram.
The mayor of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, urged residents to seek shelter in hispost on Telegram, warning: "The enemy is attacking western Ukraine with drones. Do not ignore the alert!"
Ukraine's Energy Ministry said the strikes caused emergency power outages in several regions, with repair crews working to restore electricity where possible.
Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities as the winter months approach, leading to fears of power shortages amid the likely freezing weather. Moscow has also regularly struck Ukrainian civilian areas, although it denies it targets such sites.
Air Defenses Activated In Poland And Romania
The Russian attack on Ukraine's western regions prompted a swift response from neighboring Poland.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces confirmed that fighter jets and early-warning aircraft were scrambled due to Russia's strikes near the Polish border.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency reported the brief closure of the airports in Rzeszow and Lublin in southeastern Poland "to ensure the freedom of military aviation operations."
Romania has also briefly raised its air defenses after radar detected a drone penetrating about 8 kilometers into national airspace, triggering public alerts in the Tulcea and Galati counties in the eastern part of the country.
Eurofighter and F-16 jets were scrambled, though no debris or impact sites were found, according to a statement from the Romanian Defense Ministry.
Russian Drones Strike Kharkiv
In Ukraine's Kharkiv region, dozens were wounded overnight as Russian drones struck for the third time in three days, officials said on November 19.
Kharkiv police said at least 36 people were injured in the latest overnight attack, which damaged more than 10 apartment buildings, a school, a supermarket, and an ambulance station.
Two children aged nine and 13 were among those injured, police said, adding "doctors diagnosed the children with acute stress reactions."
On November 18, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed it had carried out long-range strikes inside Russia using short-range ATACMS missiles.
The Ukrainian military described the action as a "significant development" and said long-range strike operations would continue.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces fired four ATACMS missiles at the city of Voronezh, located in southern Russia.
