Ukraine reports Russian missile barrage

Russia conducted a massive strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure across the country on Wednesday, the local authorities have said, confirming damage to several facilities. Moscow has yet to comment on the reported long-range attacks.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in a Facebook post that Moscow attacked power generation and transmission facilities in Poltava, Kirovograd, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnitsa Regions, as well as the Kiev-controlled part of Russia’s Zaporozhye Region. The minister also urged people to save energy.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed the strikes, noting that the attack also took place in Kiev Region. He claimed that the barrage included more than 50 missiles and 20 drones targeting infrastructure, adding that emergency services were dealing with the aftermath on the ground. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 39 missiles and almost all of the drones.

National power grid operator Ukrenergo said, “there has been damage to power-generating facilities,” adding that equipment at one site in the central region was affected.

Calling the development “another extremely difficult night for the Ukrainian energy industry,” power grid operator DTEK said Russia attacked three of its thermal power plants, adding that “equipment has been seriously damaged.”

Transport operator Ukrainian Railways reported an attack on the “civilian railway infrastructure” in the Kiev-controlled city of Kherson, which damaged the tracks and the station, causing traffic disruptions.

Maksim Kozitsky, the head of the military administration of Lviv Region, said one of the attacks targeted a local underground natural gas storage and a thermal power plant.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said last week that the recurring Russian strikes have disrupted half of the country’s energy system.

Moscow first began targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in autumn 2022, in response to what it called the terrorist bombing of the Crimean Bridge in October of that year. While Kiev initially denied responsibility, it later acknowledged its role in the attack, saying it was intended to undermine Russian logistics.

Moscow insists that the strikes are only aimed at military targets and facilities that support their operations and never at the civilian population.