KYIV—Russia launched one of the biggest missile-and-drone attacks of the war on cities across Ukraine early Sunday, knocking out power in parts of at least three regions, with some areas also reporting water cuts.

On Nov. 17, Russia launched one of its largest air attacks on Ukraine. This was a response from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to those who have called and visited him, said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Oleksandr Sybiha.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday had given no indication of a shift in the Russian President's thinking on the war in Ukraine but defended his much-criticised decision to phone the Kremlin.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday defended a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that came in for sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "It was important to say as well that he (Putin) should not count on the support for Ukraine of Germany,