Russia’s Missile Strikes Cause Widespread Blackouts in Ukraine
KYIV — Large areas of Ukraine are suffering blackouts after Russian missiles targeted energy infrastructure.
The second-largest city of Kharkiv is currently without electricity, as regional head Oleg Synehubov reported.
Fifteen blasts struck Kharkiv, while over 53,000 households in Odesa are left powerless.
Accusing Russia of attempting to trigger a “large-scale failure of the country’s energy system”, Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, revealed that a power line feeding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was severed.
Regional head Ivan Fedorov warned that the power station is “on the verge of a blackout”, with seven buildings destroyed and 35 others damaged in the region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed that Russia launched over 60 Shahed drones and around 90 missiles into Ukraine in the recent wave of attacks, resulting in at least two deaths and 14 injuries.
The onslaught follows a major air strike by Russian forces on Kyiv, leaving 17 people injured, including a child.
President Zelensky urged Western allies for more military aid and air defense systems, criticizing the lack of ammunition for his troops as “humiliating” for Europe.
Ukraine’s state hydropower company reported a Russian strike on its largest dam, the DniproHES in Zaporizhzhia, causing a fire but no immediate breach threat.
Videos circulating on social media showed a trolleybus engulfed in flames on the dam after a missile strike, leading to a complete halt in traffic across the dam, as confirmed by Zaporizhzhia police.
Additional blasts were recorded in Kryvyi Rih and Vinnytsia, damaging critical infrastructure, while Ukrainian officials highlighted the consistent attacks on energy grids as part of Russia’s warfare strategy against Ukraine.
Though previous attacks in 2022 had disrupted power supply for millions, Ukrainian grid operator Volodymyr Kudrytsky emphasized that the recent strikes were on a much larger scale, particularly devastating Kharkiv’s energy facilities.
President Zelensky condemned the attacks as “energy terrorism”, echoing the International Criminal Court’s recent issuance of arrest warrants for two Russian commanders linked to attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. — BBC
