Kyiv — Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy sector on Thursday, triggering emergency power outages as temperatures fell to freezing across the country. Ukraine’s energy network has been heavily targeted since Russia has launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with kyiv accusing Moscow of “terrorist” tactics by attempting to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness and cut off heat to civilians throughout the winter.
The nighttime strikes come after two weeks of dramatic escalation that saw both sides launch new weapons to gain the upper hand. ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said power infrastructure was “under massive attack by the enemy” after a nationwide air alert was issued for incoming missiles.
Alina Smutko/Reuters
The Air Force reported a series of Russian cruise missiles and attack drones heading towards cities across the country, including the capital kyiv, Kharkiv in the northeast and the port city of Odessa on the Black Sea.
“Ukrainian energy sector is under massive attack from the enemy”
“Once again, the energy sector is under massive attack from the enemy. Attacks on energy facilities are taking place throughout Ukraine,” Galushchenko said.
The national power grid operator, Ukrenergo, “urgently introduced emergency power cuts,” it added, as temperatures dropped to around 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Energy supplier DTEK said Ukrenergo was introducing emergency power cuts in the kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro and Donetsk regions.
Authorities warned residents in many cities to stay in shelters, with the air alert still in effect.
“As soon as the security situation allows, the consequences (of the strikes) will be clarified,” Galushchenko said.
The president’s chief of staff Volodymyr Zelensky said the wave of attacks showed Russia was “continuing its terrorist tactics.”
“They stockpiled missiles to attack Ukrainian infrastructure and to fight civilians during… the winter,” Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram message, promising that Ukraine would respond.
Rosemary DiCarlo, a senior United Nations official, warned this month that Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could make this winter “the harshest since the start of the war.”
Russia-Ukraine war intensifies with new weapons
Russia said earlier this week that it was preparing its own retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on its territory using ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States.
Ukraine has launched at least three attacks on Russian territory with long-range missiles since the White House gave it permission to fire them deeper into Russia.
Moscow responded to the first strike with fire a unique ballistic missile in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. In a furious address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the nuclear-capable, intermediate-range, multiple-warhead missile could be used against Western countries if they let Ukraine use its weapons to strike the Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced Thursday that it had shot down 25 Ukrainian drones fired overnight, including 14 over the southern Krasnodar Territory, just east of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The governor of Krasnodar said a woman was injured by falling debris in the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban, about 60 miles east of the Kerch Bridge – the giant infrastructure project linking Crimea to Russia which kyiv heavily targeted throughout the war.
Trump hires retired general to lead Ukraine and Russia policy
The latest missile salvo came a day after Trump named stalwart loyalist and retired general Keith Kellogg as his envoy to Ukraine, tasked with ending the Russian invasion.
Trump campaigned on a platform to ensure a quick end to the war in Ukraine, boasting that he would quickly negotiate a ceasefire deal – comments that sparked concern in kyiv that the The United States would push it to cede land occupied by Russian forces.
Kellog, an 80-year-old national security veteran, co-authored an article this year calling on Washington to leverage military aid as a way to promote peace talks.
The outgoing Biden administration has urged Ukraine to lower the minimum conscription age to 18 to address severe labor shortages on the 600-mile front line.
Russian troops have been advancing for months in the east, where they have an advantage in terms of manpower and ammunition over the Ukrainian forces already deployed.
