In a relentless assault that began under the cover of night and persisted well into the daylight hours on Tuesday, Russia unleashed a barrage of over 650 drones and approximately three dozen missiles upon Ukraine, according to officials. This devastating attack claimed the lives of at least three individuals, including a four-year-old child, casting a shadow just days before the Christmas holiday.

The assault inflicted damage on both residential areas and the power infrastructure across 13 regions in Ukraine, leading to widespread power outages amid freezing temperatures. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the situation the day following his remarks about the “quite solid” strides being made toward a peace agreement.

The scale and timing of this operation underscore Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to continue the invasion, Zelenskyy expressed through a message on the Telegram platform. Ukrainian and European leaders have voiced concerns over what they perceive as Putin’s lack of genuine commitment to the peace initiatives spearheaded by the United States.

“This attack sends an unequivocal message about Russia’s priorities,” Zelenskyy remarked. “A blow delivered just as Christmas approaches, when families seek the comfort and safety of home. It strikes amidst ongoing negotiations aimed at halting this war. Putin struggles to accept the necessity of ending the bloodshed.”

The attack “is an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said. “A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety. A strike, in fact, in the midst of negotiations that are being conducted to end this war. Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has for months been pressing for a peace agreement, but the negotiations have become entangled in the very different demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives. Trump was less effusive on Monday, saying, “The talks are going along.”

Initial reports from Ukrainian emergency services said the child died in Ukraine’s northwestern Zhytomyr region, while a drone killed a woman in the Kyiv region, and another civilian death was recorded in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to Zelenskyy.

Russia launched 635 drones of various types and 38 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said.

Air defenses stopped 587 drones and 34 missiles, it said.

It was the ninth large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and left multiple regions in the west without power, while emergency power outages were in place across the country, acting Energy Minister Artem Nekraso said.

Work to restore power would begin as soon as the security situation permitted, he said.

Here is the latest on the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Ukraine’s largest private energy supplier, DTEK, said the attack targeted thermal power stations in what it said was the seventh major strike on the company’s facilities since October.

DTEK’s thermal power plants have been hit more than 220 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Those attacks have killed four workers and wounded 59.

Authorities in the western regions of Rivne, Ternopil, and Lviv, as well as the northern Sumy region, reported damage to energy infrastructure or power outages after the attack.

In the southern Odesa region, Russia struck energy, port, transport, industrial, and residential infrastructure, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.

A merchant ship and over 120 homes were damaged, he said.