At least three people, including a four-year-old child, were killed after Russia launched a large overnight attack on several Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the assault as “massive” and said energy facilities were among the targets, causing power outages in several regions just days before Christmas.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 635 drones and 38 missiles, claiming that 621 of them were intercepted.

Local authorities said a child died in the Zhytomyr region despite efforts by doctors to save the victim. Five others were injured in the same strike.

In the Kyiv region, a 76-year-old woman was killed and three people were injured when a house was hit, according to emergency services. Another person, aged 72, was killed in an attack in the western Khmelnytskyy region.

Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the missiles and drones targeting western Ukraine, officials said.

Ukraine’s energy operator warned of emergency power cuts across the country as temperatures are expected to drop below freezing. Acting Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said it was the ninth major attack on the power system this year, with electricity supply almost completely lost in parts of Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyy regions.

Russia’s defence ministry said it struck military-industrial sites and supporting energy facilities in Ukraine and claimed all targets were hit.

Meanwhile, Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a petrochemical plant in southern Russia’s Stavropol region, though no casualties were reported.

The latest attacks came amid continued fighting and diplomatic efforts to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

With inputs from BBC