Russia launches major drone and missile attack

R USSIA fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours, officials said.

- ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

At least three people were killed, including a four-year-old child.

The barrage struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitter temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, a day after he described recent progress on finding a peace deal "quite solid".

The bombardment demonstrated Russian President Vladimir Putin's intention of prosecuting the invasion of Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian and European officials have complained that Mr Putin is not sincerely engaging with US-led peace efforts. The attack "is an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities", Mr Zelensky said.

"A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety.