In a shocking turn of events, Russia launched a “massive” missile strike at Ukraine overnight, targeting energy facilities and causing damage to power plants in several regions, officials in Kiev reported on Saturday.
The escalating strikes by Moscow have been causing blackouts and forcing Ukraine to urge consumers to ration their energy supplies in recent months. The Ukrainian army confirmed the attack in its regular morning update, stating that Russian armed forces had once again targeted the country’s energy infrastructure.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko took to Facebook to announce the damage caused by the missile strikes in regions such as Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv. The DTEK power operator revealed that equipment at four of its thermal power plants had been severely damaged in the overnight attacks.
According to the Ukrainian air force, Moscow fired a total of 34 missiles, with 21 of them being successfully shot down. The strikes resulted in two injuries in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, as confirmed by Oleksandr Vilkul, president of the city’s defence council.
In response to the limited energy supplies, the head of the western Lviv region urged residents to refrain from using energy-intensive appliances between 7:00pm and 10:00pm. The situation has put a strain on the energy system’s ability to maintain a balance between production and consumption.
Furthermore, Moscow claimed that Ukraine had launched one of its largest ever attempted overnight drone attacks on the southern Krasnodar region and the annexed Crimean peninsula. The Russian defence ministry reported that their air defences successfully destroyed a total of 66 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar region and two more over Crimea.