MOSCOW: Russia struck Ukraine’s energy facilities on Friday in a massive air attack that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said was one of the largest ever launched on the troubled grid and proof of why kyiv needed of increased Western support before any peace with Russia.
Russia’s 12th major attack on the energy system this year has damaged power facilities in several Ukrainian regions and forced authorities to impose even longer power cuts for millions of civilians, the grid operator said national.
With winter temperatures currently around -6 degrees Celsius, the strikes increase pressure on Ukraine at an unpredictable time, as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House next month, promising to quickly end the war.
“This is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘peace’ plan: destroy everything. This is how he wants ‘negotiations’ – by terrorizing millions of people,” Zelenskiy said on X.
“A strong response from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive response. »
Russia launched 93 missiles, including one made in North Korea, and nearly 200 drones in the attack, Zelenskiy said. Air defenses intercepted 81 missiles, including 11 shot down by F-16 fighter jets, it added.
It was difficult to assess the true extent of the damage. After repeated Russian attacks, officials reveal little detailed information about the state of the network.
Six unspecified energy facilities were damaged in the western Lviv region, which borders Poland, officials said.
An industry source said Reuters that the attack had targeted electricity substations and that there had been more strikes on gas infrastructure than in previous assaults.
Unspecified equipment at thermal power plants suffered serious damage, according to DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private electricity supplier, which has been hit by strikes since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Authorities said they had imposed additional power outages due to the attack. In the region outside kyiv, power outages were expected to last 11 hours, up from eight hours before the attack. About half of power company Yasno’s 3.5 million consumers were without power on Friday, its CEO said.
“I reiterate my call for the urgent delivery of 20 NASAMS, HAWK or IRIS-T air defense systems,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote in a message on X, responding to the attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said five of Ukraine’s nine operating nuclear reactors had reduced their power due to new attacks on energy infrastructure.
One person was slightly injured, authorities said.
“As Ukrainians wake up to the coldest day of winter so far, the enemy is trying to break our spirit with this cynical terrorist attack,” said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK.
Moscow described its assault as retaliation against Ukraine for using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles to attack a Russian military airfield this week.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said long-range precision air and sea weapons and drones were used against “critical installations of Ukraine’s fuel and energy infrastructure that support the military-industrial complex.”
Russia says it does not target civilian infrastructure, but considers the electricity system a military target.
The attack comes as Russian forces make their fastest gains on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine since 2022 in their drive to seize the entire industrial Donbass region.
Trump’s imminent return to power has raised hopes of a push for negotiations to end the war.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it needs the West to help strengthen it before peace talks begin, a position Zelenskiy reiterated on Friday.
“Talk will not stop Putin – we need strength that will lead to peace,” he said.
