Russia-Ukraine War: After a “massive” wave of Russian missiles and drones targeted Ukraine’s energy system, Kyiv on Wednesday warned of possible power shutdowns across the country, as reported by news agency AFP. As Moscow escalated its attack against Ukraine from both land and from the skies, it claimed that its forces had taken control of two more frontline villages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “On the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II, Nazi President Vladimir Putin launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine,” as quoted by AFP. The fresh warnings of blackouts were triggered by the intensified strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“There may be power cuts for household and industrial consumers across Ukraine… due to new damage to the equipment of Ukrainian power plants caused by Russian strikes,” power operator Ukrenergo said, as quoted by AFP. Meanwhile, responding to its latest attack on Kyiv, Russia’s defence ministry said that the strikes were in response to the Kyiv regime’s attempt to damage Russian energy facilities.
“In response to the Kyiv regime’s attempt to damage Russian energy facilities, this morning the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a group strike against energy facilities and enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex,” it said in a briefing, as quoted by AFP.
Kyiv has hit Russian oil refineries and storage depots in drone attacks over the past few months. Ukrenergo said it was working on overcoming power shortages in the face of a “particularly difficult situation,” including by using emergency supplies from European countries. The strikes targeted energy infrastructure facilities in at least six regions, the ministry said.
Ukraine Energy Minister German Galushchenko condemned another attack on the energy industry and said, “The enemy has not abandoned plans to deprive Ukrainians of light,” as quoted by AFP.
According to Ukraine’s largest private energy operator, DTEK, at least three thermal power plants were “seriously damaged” overnight, AFP reported. This was the fifth attack on the company’s energy facilities in a month and a half, DTEK said.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Russia said its forces had captured two more frontline villages in Ukraine, including in the northeast Kharkiv region, where it was forced to retreat in 2022. Russian army units “liberated the village of Kyslivka in the Kharkiv region” and Novokalynove in the eastern Donetsk region, the defence ministry said, as quoted by AFP.
