Connectivity in Ukraine has dropped significantly amid renewed Russian attacks on the nation's grid.

More than a million people in Ukraine have been left without power due to the coordinated assault of drones and missiles, in the second such attack of its kind this month.

"Metrics show a significant decline in Internet connectivity in multiple regions of Ukraine," outage tracker NetBlocks said, attributing it to the attack on the Ukrainian energy system with impacts attributed to physical damage as well as emergency shutdowns."

Ukraine's energy minister German Galushchenko said that, "once again, the energy sector is under massive enemy attack. Attacks on energy facilities are taking place across Ukraine."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia launched 90 missiles and 100 drones, claiming that they were in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said cluster munitions were used specifically against civilian and energy infrastructure, calling it a "very despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics."

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia director, said: “The devastation caused by this and previous attacks makes it apparent that Russia seeks to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in freezing conditions.

“These coordinated attacks are systematically crippling Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, depriving civilians of electricity, heating, and water as winter sets in.

“Deliberately attacking civilian objects and destroying infrastructure indispensable to the survival of the civilian population are war crimes."

The attack lasted almost nine-and-a-half hours. Capital Kyiv was also targeted, but Ukraine's military said that it was able to intercept them.

In a security summit this week in Kazakhstan, Putin said that Russia had begun serial production of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile that was used last week on Dnipro.

Russia's Ministry of Defence has selected more targets in Ukraine to strike with the new missile, Putin said. This “will be comparable to nuclear weapons," he threatened.

To help civilians impacted by the war in Ukraine donate to the Red Cross today.