Russia intensifies strikes on Ukraine’s power grid

by Max Hunder

(Reuters) – Russia carried out its largest air attack on Ukraine’s electricity grid overnight from Thursday to Friday, killing at least three people, Kyiv authorities said.

A strike notably targeted the largest Ukrainian dam, in Zaporizhia, the Ukrainian public hydroelectricity company announced on Friday, while the Kharkiv electricity network was targeted by Russian fire.

“Russia hit Ukrainian energy installations on Friday, and military systems on Friday. All objectives were achieved,” declared the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by the RIA agency.

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This attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was the most significant since the start of the war, said Energy Minister German Galushchenko.

“The goal is not simply to destroy, but to try once again to cause a massive blackout of the Ukrainian energy system,” the minister added on Facebook.

“Russia has launched the most significant offensive on the Ukrainian energy system since the beginning of the invasion,” confirmed the head of the electricity network operator UkrEnergo, Volodimir Kudritsky, who reported power cuts in seven regions.

According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, at least two people were killed and 14 injured across the country. Three other people are missing.

Zaporizhia Governor Ivan Fedorov told Ukrainian television that a third person had been killed in his region.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported at least three deaths and 22 injured during a press briefing.

Some 1.2 million people in at least four regions were left without power after the attacks, according to figures posted on Telegram by presidential adviser Oleksiy Kouleba, including 700,000 people in the Kharkiv region.

Russia fired 88 missiles and 63 Shahed drones, but only 37 and 55 of them, respectively, were shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. This failure could reflect widespread use of hypersonic and ballistic missiles that are more difficult to shoot down.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, who has urged Western allies to provide more air defenses in recent days, condemned the attack. Work is underway to restore electricity supply to nine regions, he added.

“The whole world clearly understands which targets are chosen by Russian terrorists: power plants and the electricity grid, a hydroelectric dam, simple residential buildings and even a trolleybus,” Volodimir Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

PARTIAL POWER OUTAGES

The DniproHES dam, located in the Zaporizhia region, however, is not in danger of collapsing, the company added.

The dam was hit eight times, a member of the prosecutor general’s office, Yuriy Belousov, told Ukrainian television.

“A fire broke out in the building. Rescuers and dam employees are managing the consequences of several airstrikes,” detailed the energy group.

Thermal power plants operated by DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, were also affected, the company said.

Furthermore, around fifteen detonations were heard Friday morning in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov, and Russian missile fire, which appeared to target the city’s electricity network, caused partial outages. current.

Some of the city’s water pumps stopped working due to the attacks.

Explosions were heard in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, Oleksandr Vilkoul, the town’s mayor, said, without providing details.

In Vinnytsia, a town also located in central Ukraine, “critical infrastructure” was damaged, according to the mayor, Serhi Borzov.

The administration of the city of Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine, also reported eight missile attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday the capture of Myrne, a village in the region.

(Max Hunder reporting, with Yuliia Dysa, Dan Peleschuk and Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty; French version Camille Raynaud, Corentin Chappron and Kate Entringer)