KYIV (Reuters) – Many of Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure was damaged overnight from Wednesday to Thursday by a massive attack by Russian drones and missiles, authorities in Kyiv said, again calling for help from the Westerners.
A missile attack also killed at least four people and wounded five others at midday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, the army’s Southern Command said.
During the night, electricity substations as well as production facilities were targeted in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv (northeast), Zaporizhia, Odessa (south) and Lviv (west), according to the network manager national Ukrenergo.
In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed responsibility for “massive strikes” on oil, gas and electricity installations.
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The Trypilska thermal power station, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, has been completely destroyed, its operator announced.
More than 40 missiles and 40 drones were fired by the Russian army, President Volodimir Zelensky said, once again asking his Western allies for the supply of anti-aircraft missiles.
“We need air defense and other defense equipment, not endless discussions,” the head of state said on Telegram messaging.
Volodimir Zelensky arrived in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, on Thursday for a security summit with several Central European leaders.
“The main thing at the moment is to do everything possible to strengthen our air defense system, meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian defense forces and consolidate international support so that we can confront Russian terror,” he said. -he still insisted on the social network
Ukraine is seriously lacking in defense equipment due to the blocking for months by the Republican opposition in the American Congress of military aid of 60 billion dollars.
“There is urgency. There is not a moment to lose,” said Bridget Brink, the United States ambassador to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed 18 missiles and 39 drones during the night, out of a total of 82 projectiles fired.
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kouleba, Russia notably used six ballistic missiles, which are all the more difficult to shoot down as they hit their target in a few minutes.
“Ukraine remains the only country in the world to face ballistic strikes. Today there is no other place where (American) Patriot missiles should be,” wrote the head of Ukrainian diplomacy on X.
The attack left some 200,000 residents of the Kharkiv region without electricity.
Private electricity supplier DTEK, targeted by attacks last month that reduced its capacity by 80%, said two of its plants had been targeted again by Russia.
(Kyiv office, with Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, Jean-Stéphane Brosse for the French version, edited by Sophie Louet)
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