Russia hits Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in huge attack

Kyiv — Russia unleashed its second big attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this month on Thursday, cutting power to more than 1-million people in the west, south and centre of the country.

President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had struck in response to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory with US medium-range ATACMS missiles. He said Russia’s future targets could include “decision-making centres” in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of a “despicable escalation”, saying it had used cruise missiles with cluster munitions.

Damage to infrastructure facilities was recorded in nine regions countrywide, Ukraine’s interior ministry said.

The attack reinforced fears of long power cuts during the winter as temperatures across Ukraine hover near zero.

Ukrainian officials said it was the 11th major strike on the energy system since March. Russia has knocked out about half of Ukraine’s available generating capacity during the course of the war, damaged the distribution system and forced authorities to impose long blackouts.

Ukraine’s military said Russia used 91 missiles and 97 drones in Thursday’s attack.

The air force said it had shot down 79 missiles and downed 35 drones, while 62 drones were “lost”, meaning they are likely to have been disrupted by electronic warfare.

A source in the energy sector said Ukraine had disconnected several nuclear power units from the network during the Russian attack. Ukraine gets more than half of its electricity from nuclear plants.

All missiles or drones aimed at Kyiv were downed, officials said.

More than 33 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war is at a critical juncture, with Russian ground forces advancing at their fastest pace so far this year in the eastern Donetsk region.

Russia fired a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine this month in response to the US and Britain allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western missiles.

“Putin does not want peace. We must force him into peace through strength,” foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said, reiterating Kyiv’s call for more air defence and long-range capabilities from its Western allies.

Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said Thursday’s Russian strikes had cut off electricity to about 523,000 people in the western region adjoining Poland.

Power was also cut to nearly 500,000 people in the Volyn and Rivne regions, their governors said, and disrupted in the Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr regions.

The state oil and gas firm Naftogaz said its facilities had been attacked in the morning strikes.

Officials countrywide said they were turning on generators to ensure emergency heat and water supplies to hospitals, schools and other critical facilities during bitter winter weather.

The loud hum of generators was also heard in the capital as small and medium businesses were forced to produce their own electricity.

Reuters