Massive Russian drone strikes have caused power outages in more than 400 locations in Ukraine. Russia had already targeted Ukrainian infrastructure last winter.
After a wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine, power was out in more than 400 places in the country, according to the Energy Ministry. The ministry said that power grids were damaged, especially in the south around the port city of Odessa and in the southeast in the Zaporizhia region.
According to the Air Force, the attacks lasted from Friday evening until the early hours of Saturday. Russia fired 38 Iranian-made Shahed drones into Ukraine. The Ukrainian air defense was able to shoot down 29 of them. Drones bound for Kiev were also shot down. It was the second attack on the capital this month.
The energy ministry said there was a power outage in 416 settlements in the south and southeast of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian emergency services, a power plant was hit in the southern Odessa region. A fire caused by this was quickly extinguished. In the northern Chernihiv region, power was out in six places.
Authorities warn of the consequences of Russian attacks
This year autumn in Ukraine was unusually mild. But with temperatures now falling, authorities are warning the population and businesses about the consequences of new Russian attacks. “We cannot allow ourselves to relax,” said the head of the Ukrainian electricity grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, on television. The military and energy sectors prepared to ward off possible Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Thursday that Russia is currently increasing the number of its missiles in order to attack important infrastructure again in the winter. Last winter, Moscow specifically targeted facilities important for energy and heat supply. As a result, millions of Ukrainians had to survive in the cold without electricity, heating or water.
Hatched: territories occupied by Russia
Ukrainian army holds positions on the left bank of the Dnipro
In addition, the Ukrainian General Staff said that its forces “continue to hold positions on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River.” “Our defenders are consolidating their positions and firing on the occupiers,” the General Staff said. The wide Dnipro has been the front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces in southern Ukraine for a year. The western bank is held by Ukraine, while Russia controls the opposite bank.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Bryansk border region.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.