Kiev – Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy sector on Thursday, causing emergency power outages as temperatures plunged to freezing across the country. The Ukrainian energy network has since come under heavy fire Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, when Kiev accused Moscow of “terror” tactics by trying to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness and cut off heating for citizens during the winter.
The overnight strikes come after two weeks of dramatic escalation, with both sides launching new weapons to gain the upper hand prior to the inauguration of newly elected President Donald Trump in January.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the energy infrastructure was “under massive enemy attack” after a nationwide air raid alert was issued for incoming missiles.
Alina Smutko/REUTERS
The air force reported a series of Russian cruise missiles and attack drones heading toward cities across the country, including the capital Kiev, Kharkiv in the northeast and the Black Sea port city of Odesa.
The Ukrainian energy sector is under massive enemy attack
“Once again the energy sector is under heavy attack by the enemy. Attacks on energy facilities are taking place throughout Ukraine,” Galushchenko said.
National electricity grid operator Ukrenergo “urgently introduced emergency power cuts,” he added, as temperatures dropped to around 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Energy supplier DTEK said Ukrenergo is introducing emergency power cuts in the Kiev, Odessa, Dnipro and Donetsk regions.
Officials warned residents of many cities to stay in shelters while air raid sirens were still in effect.
“As soon as the security situation allows, the consequences (of the strikes) will be specified,” Galushchenko said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said the wave of attacks showed Russia was “continuing its terror tactics.”
“They have stockpiled missiles for attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, for warfare against civilians during… winter,” Andriy Yermak said in a message on Telegram, vowing that Ukraine would respond.
A senior United Nations official, Rosemary DiCarlo, warned this month that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could make this winter the “heaviest since the start of the war.”
The war between Russia and Ukraine escalates with new weapons
Russia said earlier this week that it is preparing its own retaliation against Ukrainian attacks on its territory using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.
Ukraine has launched at least three attacks on Russian territory with long-range missiles since the White House authorized firing them deeper into Russia.
Moscow responded to the first attack by firing a never-before-seen ballistic missile in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. In an angry address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the intermediate-range nuclear missile with multiple warheads could be used against Western countries if they allowed their weapons to be used by Ukraine to hit Russia.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it had shot down 25 Ukrainian drones fired overnight, including 14 over the southern Krasnodar region – just east of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The governor of Krasnodar said a woman was injured by falling debris in the Kuban city of Slaviansk, about 90 kilometers east of the Kerch Bridge – the massive infrastructure project linking Crimea with Russia that has come under heavy fire from Kiev throughout the war .
Trump asks a retired general to lead Ukraine and Russia policy
The latest salvo of missiles came a day after Trump appointed staunch loyalist and retired General Keith Kellogg as his envoy to Ukraine, tasked with ending the Russian invasion.
Trump campaigned on a platform of bringing a quick end to the war in Ukraine, boasting that he would quickly broker a ceasefire deal — comments that have raised concerns in Kiev that the US will push the country to relinquish land state occupied by Russian troops.
Kellog, an 80-year-old national security veteran, co-authored an article this year calling on Washington to use military aid as a means to advance peace talks.
The outgoing Biden administration has urged Ukraine to lower the minimum age for military service to 18 to fill a serious manpower shortage on the 900-kilometer frontline.
Russian troops have been advancing in the east for months, where they have an advantage in manpower and ammunition over Ukraine’s stretched military forces.
