Russian airstrikes hit energy facilities as Ukraine faces power outages

Russian missile strikes have hit Ukrainian energy facilities across cities in the south and east of the country, leaving some areas without water and electricity as winter approaches.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that in the past week, Russian attacks have knocked out 30% of the country’s power plants, causing “massive blackouts”.

Numerous reports cite attacks on vital infrastructure overnight and this morning, with strikes on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zhytomyr.

Two people were killed and another person was wounded in a strike on an energy supply facility in Kyiv this morning, the City Prosecutor’s office said.

While authorities confirmed water and power outages in the northern city of Zhytomyr this morning, with hospitals now on reserve generators.

The city’s mayor Serhiy Sukhomlyn, said there is currently “no light or water in the city”, after overnight strikes on the city, which has military bases 85 miles west of the capital.

Vladimir Putin has intensified Russia’s bombing campaign targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, following an attack on Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to annexed Crimea, on 8 October.

Warplane crashes into Russian apartment block killing at least 13 people

Marina Ovsyannikova: Former Russian TV journalist who staged on-air protest has fled country after escaping house arrest, lawyer says

‘General Armageddon’ and Iranian drones causing merry hell in Kyiv

In its daily intelligence briefing, the UK Ministry of Defence said it is “highly likely” that a key objective of Russia’s strike campaign is “to cause widespread damage to Ukraine’s energy distribution network”.

In Kharkiv, the head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, wrote on Telegram that eight rockets were fired from the nearby Russian city of Belgorod, and added that there were no injuries.

In the southeastern city of Dnipro, parts of the region were also without electricity on Tuesday morning after two missiles hit an energy facility, the head of Dnipro, Valentyn Reznichenko said.

He said it is “very important” to “save electricity wherever possible”.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the strikes on Ukrainian energy and critical infrastructure as “terrorist attacks”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

In Kyiv, black smoke was pictured rising over the capital as northern parts of the city were hit by strikes. Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack hit critical infrastructure and that emergency workers were heading to the scene.

Russia has also been using varied modes of attack.

In the partly Russian-occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, an infrastructure facility was set ablaze due to suicide drones, the regional governor said.

The drones are also nicknamed “kamikaze drones” as they slam into their targets and explode.

Ukraine says Russia is getting thousands of drones from Iran. The Iranian-made Shahed drones that nose-dive with their explosive charges into targets have been widely used elsewhere in Ukraine in recent weeks.

Shelling in the middle and south of the country continued overnight after Kyiv was hit by a wave of “kamikaze drones” on Monday.

Read Entire Article