Russia unleashed the largest missile and drone attack against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in more than three weeks on Friday night, firing a combined 100 missiles and drones.
The barrage targeted energy sites across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, damaging two thermal power plants and injuring civilians.
“The enemy launched 53 missiles of various types and 47 attack drones,” the air force said, adding that it shot down 35 of the missiles and all but one of the drones.
Russia has launched dozens of aerial attacks at Ukraine’s power facilities throughout the two-year war, causing significant damage and energy shortages as Ukraine’s stretched air defences struggle to repel the waves of drones and missiles.
“It was another extremely difficult night for the Ukrainian energy sector. The enemy struck two of our thermal power plants. The equipment was seriously damaged,” DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, said on Telegram.
At least 19 injured
Officials said at least 19 people were injured. Twelve people, including eight children, were hospitalised after a strike close to two houses where they were sheltering in the Kharkiv region, said regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
German Galushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said Russia had targeted sites in five regions – Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zaporizhzhya – stretching from near the eastern front lines to Ukraine’s west, which borders the EU.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said Moscow was trying to “exploit” a lack of “determination” among Ukraine’s key Western backers and repeated his call for more air defence systems.
“Russia’s main goal is to normalise terror, to exploit the lack of sufficient air defence and determination of Ukraine’s partners,” he said.
“This is a test of humanity and determination for the free world. Either we pass this test together, or the world will plunge into even greater destabilisation and chaos,” he added.
In a daily briefing, Russia’s defence ministry said it had launched a “group strike with long-range… precision weapons against Ukrainian energy facilities that support the work of enterprises of the military-industrial complex”.
It said the strikes were a “response to attempts by the Kyiv regime to damage Russian energy and transport facilities”.
It also said it had hit depots with Western weapons.
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