Russia has launched a massive assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, killing seven people and triggering emergency power cuts in Kyiv and three other regions, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday.
The strikes targeted key energy facilities in Kyiv and other major cities, in one of the biggest attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in months, as the country prepares for winter.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said Russia had carried out a “massive” and combined attack on energy infrastructure, describing it as the first of its scale since the end of the last heating season.
“Since the summer, there has been practically no day when the enemy has not attacked energy infrastructure. But such a massive and combined attack has occurred for the first time since the end of the last heating season,” Koretskyi said.
Ukraine’s national grid operator, Ukrenergo, imposed emergency power cuts in Kyiv and three other regions following the attacks. Freezing nighttime temperatures have also been forecast in the Ukrainian capital in the coming days, raising concerns about the impact of further disruptions to electricity and heating supplies.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a “massive strike” using ground-based high-precision weapons and attack drones against a communication centre in Kyiv, Ukraine’s energy system facilities and port infrastructure in Izmail, in the southwestern Odesa region.
The attack followed warnings from Ukrainian officials and security experts that Russia could intensify strikes against energy infrastructure ahead of winter, amid concerns over Ukraine’s air defence capabilities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned at the United Nations General Assembly last week that Kyiv would retaliate against Russia’s energy infrastructure if the two sides failed to reach an agreement to halt attacks on energy facilities.
“Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too,” Zelenskyy said on September 23.
The latest strikes also come after Russia said in late August that it was preparing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian fuel and energy facilities.
US President Donald Trump had previously said Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt attacks on energy facilities, although both sides subsequently clarified that no formal agreement had been concluded.
Boluwatife Enome
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