Missile attack leads to emergency power outages in Ukraine

Ukraine said Russian forces launched a “massive” missile attack on the country’s infrastructure on Wednesday, forcing officials to impose emergency power outages to ease pressure on the country’s damaged grid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said air defenses shot down at least 30 of more than 40 missiles fired by Russia in a barrage of attacks targeting gas and energy facilities.

“Another massive Russian attack. “We are in the middle of winter, and the goal for the Russians has not changed: our energy infrastructure.” He said in a statement on social media from the capital, where temperatures were just above freezing.

Air, land and sea missiles — including at least one ballistic missile — were fired in the barrage, along with dozens of attack drones, according to the Ukrainian air force. He said Energy facilities in the Kharkiv, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions were damaged, but he stressed that not all missiles that evaded air defenses reached their targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed that it has used “precision weapons and attack drones” against critical gas and energy infrastructure, confirming In a statement That “all designated facilities have been targeted.”

The Russian military has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in campaigns to overwhelm the country in the winter. Attacks on Power plants and substations The country’s power grid was left on the verge of collapse. Experts say.

On Wednesday, air raid sirens sounded at around 5:45 a.m. in the capital, Kiev, as much of the country was put on alert for missile launches. Polish army is protective Fighter planes scrambled.

As Ukrainians huddled in shelters for a third hour and the air force warned of incoming cruise missiles, Energy Minister Herman Galoshenko announced emergency steps.

“Due to the massive attack, the TSO is implementing preventive restriction measures,” Mr. Galoshenko said. he wrote in a statement On Facebook.

Emergency power outages were briefly cut in six regions across the country, including Kharkiv in the northeast and Zaporizhia in the south, according to Ukrainergo, the national electricity operator.

Two vital infrastructure facilities were bombed in the Lviv region of western Ukraine. According to the head of the regional military administrationMaxim Kozitsky. He later said that there were two houses and two outbuildings It was also damaged. Authorities there said facilities in the Ivano-Frankivsk region were also attacked.

The attack came a day after Moscow was threatened For revenge Because of what it said was Ukraine’s latest use of Western-made long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

Ukraine’s energy grid was hit so hard by the strikes that officials were forced to take action Look for alternatives – Such as leasing floating power plants and disposing of old ones in the area – to relieve pressure on the grid and prevent a crisis.