Kyiv, Ukraine – Russian forces launched a devastating nighttime assault on Ukraine’s power grid, firing over 50 cruise missiles and explosive drones. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as a “massive” attack, occurring on the day the country commemorates victory against Nazism in World War II. The barrage targeted seven Ukrainian regions, including areas around Kyiv, causing damage to homes and the country’s rail network. Authorities reported that three individuals, including an 8-year-old girl, were injured in the onslaught.
Throughout the conflict that has lasted for over three years, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, impacting manufacturing, including military plants, and weakening public morale. The Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee on Energy and Housing Services Chairman, Andrii Herus, estimated that nearly half of Ukraine’s power infrastructure has been damaged by Russian attacks since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The total damage is estimated at $12.5 billion, with $1 billion inflicted in the past two weeks.
The ongoing assaults not only cause physical destruction but also deplete Ukrainian air defenses as they await additional Western military support. Ukrainian officials have been urging for more NATO-standard air defense systems, such as Patriots. President Zelenskyy drew parallels between Ukraine’s current struggle and the fight against Nazism, emphasizing the need for a united free world to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, aiming to retaliate against Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. In a recent incident, a Ukrainian attack on an oil terminal resulted in injuries to five workers and a fire, as reported by authorities in the partially occupied Luhansk region. Despite the frequency of Russian bombardments decreasing in recent weeks, Ukrainian officials suspect that Moscow is preparing for a major battlefield offensive in the near future.
The continuous assaults have not only impacted regions near the frontlines but have also reached areas further away, such as the Lviv region in Ukraine’s far west. Two energy facilities in the Lviv region were severely impacted by the recent attack, according to regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi. Furthermore, the largest private energy supplier in Ukraine, DTEK, reported extensive damage to three of its thermal power plants during the assault. This attack marked the fifth targeting DTEK’s facilities in the past six weeks, with a total of nearly 180 attacks since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russian forces launched 55 missiles and 21 drones overnight, with Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepting a significant number. Additionally, Russian forces damaged infrastructure, including a railway station building and train tracks in Kherson. In a separate incident, an educational facility in northeastern Kharkiv was hit, resulting in injuries to five individuals, including three children. The city’s Mayor, Ihor Terekhov, noted that one of the children was in critical condition.