Ukraine war: Russia launches massive drone and missile attack

Russia launched a new massive attack against Ukrainian energy facilities on Wednesday night into Thursday, killing three people, including a young girl, and causing widespread power outages across the country.

Read: Trump on Ukraine war: “Sometimes you have to let them fight”

The Russian military, which has invaded Ukraine for three and a half years, has intensified its campaign against the energy grid in recent weeks as winter approaches. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “the enemy used over 650 drones and more than 50 missiles of various types” to strike energy infrastructure and residential areas in ten regions.

In the city of Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, where residential buildings were hit, “unfortunately two people lost their lives,” he continued.

Later, regional authorities in Vinnytsia, in west-central Ukraine, announced the death of a 7-year-old girl who succumbed to her injuries at the hospital where she had been taken after the strike.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it launched a “massive” attack against “military-industrial enterprises” and “energy infrastructure that ensures their operation,” as well as “military airfields”.

Ukraine war: “Russia aims to completely destroy Ukraine’s energy system”

Russia also announced that it captured two more villages in northeastern and southern Ukraine, where the Ukrainian army has been losing ground for months. These are the settlements of Sadove, in the Kharkiv region, and Krasnohirske, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukraine’s largest private energy group, DTEK, announced that thermal power plants “suffered serious damage” in several regions. “This attack has dealt a harsh blow to our efforts to maintain energy supply this winter,” noted DTEK director Maxim Timchenko in a post on X. “Given the intensity of attacks over the past two months, it is clear that Russia aims to completely destroy Ukraine’s energy system,” he emphasized.

The public energy company Ukrenergo initially announced emergency power cuts in most regions of the country early this morning, which were later converted to load shedding to restore grid balance between production and consumption.

In some regions, problems were also caused in water supply and heating energy provision. Regional officials also stated that two energy facilities in the western Lviv region were damaged.

Zelensky: We count on the US, Europe and G7 countries not to ignore Moscow’s intention to destroy everything

“We count on America, Europe and the G7 countries not to ignore Moscow’s intention to destroy everything,” Zelensky noted, calling for strengthened sanctions against Moscow.

Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko also accused Moscow of targeting the Ukrainian people and energy supplies as the cold winter months approach.

“Its goal is to plunge Ukraine into darkness. Ours is to keep the light,” Sviridenko said in a post on Telegram. “To stop the terror, we need more air defense systems, tougher sanctions and maximum pressure on the aggressor,” she added.

17 injured in Zaporizhzhia

In the city of Zaporizhzhia, the Russian attack injured 17 people “including a 2-year-old girl,” according to a Telegram post by regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.

An AFP journalist present in the city saw an apartment building collapsed and rescuers removing debris while residents looked at the damage.

The bombardments also injured four adults in the Vinnytsia region and another in the Kyiv region, according to authorities.

AFP journalists in Kyiv also heard Russian drones flying over the capital during the night.

Ukrainian drones

In total, Russia launched 653 drones and 52 ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, announced the Ukrainian Air Force, which clarified that it shot down 592 drones and 21 missiles respectively.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced for its part that it shot down 170 Ukrainian drones during the night, 48 of which were in the Bryansk region, on the border with Ukraine, and 9 in the Moscow region, 6 of which were heading to the capital.

Russia has been bombing residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine almost daily since February 2022 when it invaded its neighboring country.

Ukraine, whose army faces shortages in manpower and equipment, responds with long-range strikes, which are usually carried out with drones.

In recent months, Kyiv’s attacks have mainly targeted Russian energy infrastructure aimed at disrupting oil exports and reducing funding for Moscow’s war machine.

Last week Washington and the EU announced sanctions against the Russian oil sector, hoping to force Moscow to end its invasion.