President Volodymyr Zelensky said a “large-scale” Russian missile and drone attack targeted electricity infrastructure across Ukraine.
According to local authorities and media, this was the largest coordinated attack since early September, with reports of multiple explosions across the country.
“Peaceful cities, sleeping civilians” and “critical infrastructure” were targeted, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Emergency power outages were declared in Kiev and two other regions in the east, causing concerns Another difficult winter.
In total, about 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched, Zelensky said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said Russia’s latest attacks had caused “significant damage” to its thermal power plants.
In a statement, the company said this was the eighth large-scale attack on its energy facilities this year, adding that its factories have been targeted more than 190 times. since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
Ukrainian officials fear this could signal another coordinated Russian effort to deplete the power grid as winter approaches.
In southern Ukraine, the city of Mykolaiv was one of the worst affected, with at least two people killed and several injured, while the Black Sea port of Odesa suffered power cuts across the city.
In the capital Kyiv, debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell in several places but there were no reports of injuries.
Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbor, has sent fighter jets to patrol its airspace as a security precaution, the Polish Operational Command said.
“Due to a major offensive by Russia, which is carrying out attacks with cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones against locations among others in Western Ukraine, operations by Polish and allied aircraft have begun,” the statement said.
Last weekend, Russia and Ukraine share the same blow in a series of drone attacks they were the largest attacks of that kind on each other since the start of the war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had intercepted 84 Ukrainian drones over six regions, including several that were approaching Moscow, causing flights to be diverted from the capital’s three major airports.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 145 drones across the country on November 9, most of which were shot down.
