Missile attack prompts emergency blackout in Ukraine

Ukraine said the Russian military launched a “severe” missile attack on the country’s infrastructure on Wednesday, forcing authorities to impose emergency power cuts to ease pressure on the country’s grid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the gas and energy weapons had shot down at least 30 of more than 40 missiles fired by Russia in the barrage.

“Another massive Russian attack. “Winter is approaching, and the goal for Russians remains the same: our energy infrastructure,” he said in a statement on social media from the capital, which was outnumbered by the cold. the temperature.

Air, surface and sea missiles – including at least one ballistic missile – were launched in the barrage, along with dozens of attack drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. It said energy facilities in the Kharkiv, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions suffered damage, but stressed that not all missiles that evaded air defenses hit their targets.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it had used “precision weapons and strike drones” against critical gas and energy infrastructure, confirming in a statement that “all targeted sites were hit”.

The Russian military has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a campaign to destabilize the country in the winter. Attacks on power stations and power stations have left the country’s energy grid in shambles, experts say.

On Wednesday, drones roared at 5:45 a.m. in the capital, Kyiv, as most of the country was put on alert for missile launches. Poland’s military defended the fighter jets.

As Ukrainians huddled in shelters for the third hour and the Air Force warned of incoming cruise missiles, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko announced emergency measures.

“Due to the massive attack, we are implementing preventive measures,” said Mr. Galushchenko, writing in a statement on Facebook.

Emergency power shutdowns were temporarily implemented in six regions across the country, including Kharkiv in the northeast and Zaporizhzhia in the south, Ukrenergo, the national electricity operator, said.

Two important infrastructures were hit in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, according to the head of the regional military administration, Maksym Kozytskyi. He later said two houses and two outbuildings were also damaged. Buildings in the Ivano-Frankivsk region were also attacked, officials said.

The attack came a day after Moscow threatened to retaliate against what it said was Ukraine’s use of its latest Western-made long-range missile to strike Russia.

Ukraine’s energy grid has been hit by strikes, forcing officials to look for other ways — such as leasing floating power plants and decommissioning those that have already been decommissioned — to relieve pressure on the grid and prevent a crisis. .