In Russia’s latest attack, 200 missiles and drones left more than 1 million Ukrainians without electricity

Speaking at the security summit held in Kazakhstan, Putin stated that Russia targeted 17 facilities, including military and defense industry facilities, but did not accept the damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “As I have said many times, there will always be a response from our side (to the use of the American ATACMS),” Putin said.

According to Ukrainian officials, more than one million households in Ukraine were left without electricity in the attack, which involved nearly 200 missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. This marked Russia’s 11th large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy resources this year; This was a tactic that led to rolling power outages across the country.

Widespread power outage in Ukraine

Ukrainian officials confirmed that there was widespread destruction as a result of missile bombardment targeting energy facilities in various parts of the country. The attack comes less than two weeks after a similar attack, raising concerns that Russia aims to weaken Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity ahead of the harsh winter months.

“Attacks on energy facilities are happening all over Ukraine,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in a Facebook post, adding that emergency power outages were implemented across the country to manage the damage.

The Russian missile attack involved Kalibr cruise missiles, some of which were armed with cluster bombs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as an “insidious escalation”. Cluster bombs, which release many small bombs over a wide area, pose significant risks to civilians both during and after the attack.

Concern about “weaponizing for winter”

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Russia is stockpiling cruise and ballistic missiles for new attacks on Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter. The ongoing bombardment of energy infrastructure is seen as part of Russia’s “weaponizing for winter” strategy, which aims to deny Ukrainian civilians access to basic services such as heating and water during the cold season.

Almost half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed since the start of the war nearly three years ago, and repeated power outages are now commonplace.

Apart from suffering civilians, the attacks also aim to damage Ukraine’s defense industry, which is vital for the production of military assets such as missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and armored vehicles.

Missile attacks affect cities in Ukraine

Reports of explosions came from many cities in Ukraine, including Kiev, Kharkiv, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi and Lutsk. The attacks not only left civilians without electricity but also disrupted critical infrastructure such as water supply systems. More than 280,000 households were left without electricity in the Rivne region, while more than 215,000 homes in the Volyn region were similarly affected.

In Kiev, where an air raid alert lasted for more than nine hours, missile debris fell on a neighborhood, but there were no casualties. Ukrainian officials noted that air defense systems have been activated in many regions, but the damage to the infrastructure remains serious.

Call for increased military support and air defense systems

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy He called on Western countries to speed up the delivery of air defense systems, which he said were crucial to saving lives and protecting the country’s energy grid. “Each such attack proves that air defense systems are needed in life-saving Ukraine, not in storage bases,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post. he said.

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrii Yermak, accused Russia of deliberately stockpiling missiles to be used against Ukraine’s infrastructure in the coming months with the help of its “crazy allies, including North Korea.”

There are increasing reports of military support from North Korea to Russia; Both Western governments and South Korea confirm that such support has intensified in recent months.

A country in crisis as winter approaches

As winter approaches, pressure on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is increasing and local authorities are introducing measures to mitigate the impact of power outages.

In affected areas, authorities opened “recovery points,” shelters where people can charge electronic devices and buy drinks during power outages. More than half a million households were left without electricity after missile bombardment in the Lviv region.

Similar situations were reported in Ivano-Frankivsk, where air defenses were activated and emergency power outages were ordered.

This latest attack has raised fears that Russia’s strategy aims to further weaken Ukraine’s resilience as it heads into the winter months, when the country’s power grid and civilian morale are increasingly threatened.

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