90 missiles and 100 drones is what Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight with. Currently, more than one million people are without electricity as bitter winter hits with Russia’s “massive strike”.
This is the 11th large-scale attack by Russia on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this year causing blackouts nationwide.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of “weaponising winter” and stockpiling missiles to launch pre-winter aerial campaigns in Ukraine. “They were helped by their crazy allies, including from North Korea,” Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office wrote in a Telegram post.
At least 5 people were injured, one person in central Vinnytsia, two in Odesa and two in Kyiv. Residents took shelter in metro stations as the air raid alert continued for 9 hours. Around 215,000 households were temporarily without power as stated by authorities.
“Power engineers are working to ensure backup power supply schemes where possible. They have already started restoration work where the security situation allows,” the Ministry of Energy said.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said this is a response to Ukraine’s attacks with UK and US supplied weapons.
As stated by Ukraine’s president Vlodymyr Zelenskyy, cluster munitions were particularly used against civilians and energy infrastructure. He has called the attack out as a “very mean escalation” in the conflict.
“I have a power bank for charging my phone, but I did not buy a more powerful station because I did not take it seriously that there would be such attacks and that missiles would reach us. But it did reach us,” Valeriy Dorotiy, a resident of Lutsk, told CNN.
Roman Turiy, a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk said that, “I expected to be without power for three hours, but according to the new schedule, it looks like we will be without electricity for eight hours today” adding that every winter is getting harder in Ukraine.
Zelensky urged allies for help regarding air defence systems saying that attacks like this prove that the systems save lives.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said that its plants had been attacked more than 190 times since the start of the conflict as per BBC.
Speaking of Russian arms capabilities, Putin said “Let no one forget about the Kalibr systems, the Kinzhal and Tsirkon hypersonic missile systems that are in our arsenal, which have no analogues in the world in terms of their characteristics.” He added that their production is being increased in full swing and that the Ukrainian leaders are “begging their masters for other military equipment”.
Putin declared that Russia reserves the right to attack military targets in countries that permit their weapons to be used against Russia.
