Ukraine energy sector hit by ‘massive’ Russian attack, leaving at least one million without power

Russia’s military launched a “massive attack” on Ukraine’s energy sector on Thursday, leaving at least a million people without electricity in three western regions, local officials said.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said, “There are attacks on energy facilities all over Ukraine” after a nationwide air alert for incoming missiles.

Explosions were reported in Kiev, Kharkiv, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Lutsk and many other cities in central and western Ukraine.

The attacks knocked out electricity to 523,000 consumers in the Lviv region, about 215,000 in the Volyn region and more than 280,000 in the Rivne region, according to the governors’ news on the Telegram messaging application.

The air force said a number of Russian cruise missiles and attack aircraft were heading towards cities across the country, including the capital Kiev, Kharkiv in the northeast and the Black Sea port city of Odessa.

“The energy sector is once again under major enemy attack. Attacks on energy facilities are taking place throughout Ukraine,” Mr. Galushchenko said.

The national power grid operator Ukrenergo added that it “immediately initiated emergency power outages” as temperatures dropped to nearly zero degrees Celsius.

Ukrenergo will initiate emergency power outages in Kiev, Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk regions, energy provider DTEK said.

strategic timing

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s private secretary said the wave of attacks showed Russia was “continuing its terrorist tactics”.

“They stockpiled missiles for attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and to fight against civilians during the winter months,” Andriy Yermak said in a post on Telegram, promising that Ukraine would respond.

A senior UN official, Rosemary DiCarlo, warned this month that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could make this winter “the harshest since the beginning of the war.”

Russia announced earlier this week that it was preparing to retaliate against Ukraine’s attacks on its territory using ATACMS missiles supplied by the USA.

Ukraine has launched at least three attacks on Russian border regions with missiles since the White House authorized the missiles to be fired on Russian territory.

Moscow responded to the initial attack by firing a never-before-seen hypersonic ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

In an angry speech to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the nuclear-capable missile could be used against Western countries if Ukraine allows it to use its weapons to strike Russia.

USA: Ukraine needs more soldiers

President Joe Biden’s administration is calling on Ukraine to rapidly increase the size of its military by preparing more troops and renewing mobilization laws to allow conscription of even 18-year-olds.

A senior Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said lowering the mobilization age to 18 from the current 25 would help make more men of fighting age available to help heavily outnumbered Ukraine.

The “pure mathematics” of Ukraine’s current situation is that it needs more troops in the war, the official said.

White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that the administration will continue to send weapons to Ukraine but believes the “manpower” Ukraine currently has is “the most vital need.”

The Ukrainians said they needed about 160,000 additional troops to meet their needs on the battlefield, while the United States said they needed more.

Mr. Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that he has no plans to lower the mobilization age.

Some Ukrainians have expressed concern that further lowering the minimum draft age and removing more young adults from the workforce could backfire by further damaging the war-torn economy.

Russia is launching more drones

Russia’s air defense systems destroyed 25 Ukrainian drones in four regions overnight, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

14 of the UAVs were destroyed in the Krasnodar region, 6 in the Bryansk region, 3 in Crimea annexed by Moscow and 2 in the Rostov region.

Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram that two regions in southern Russia were subjected to a “massive drone attack” overnight. He said one civilian was injured.

A local Telegram channel posted footage showing an object hitting a building in the town of Slavyansk-na-Kubani, followed by a loud explosion and a fireball.

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