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Russia has launched a “massive” missile attack targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine, which has left at least one million people without power, officials have said.
In Russia’s second big attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this month, damage to the energy and other critical infrastructure was reported by officials in Lviv, Volyn, Rivne and Khmelnytskyi regions in the west, the Mykolayiv and Kherson regions in the south, and Zhytomyr region in the centre.
The attack reinforced fears of long power cuts during the winter months as temperatures across Ukraine hover around zero.
Ukrainian officials said it was the 11th major strike on the Ukrainian energy system since March. Russia had knocked out about half of Ukraine’s available generating capacity, damaged the distribution system and forced long blackouts.
“Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy’s massive strike,” Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko said on Facebook.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions in Thursday’s attack, calling it a “despicable escalation”.
Ukrainian air defence shot down 79 out of 91 Russian missiles and downed 35 drones, the air force said.
It comes as a former Ukrainian foreign minister said Vladimir Putin will not accept a peace deal pushed by US president-elect Donald Trump, because the Russian president is “obsessed” with “crushing” Ukraine and exposing the weakness of the West.
Russia attacked Ukraine’s Naftogaz facilities in the morning, company says
Ukraine’s state oil and gas firm Naftogaz has said that Russian forces attacked its facilities in the morning missile strike, but it will not affect the company’s work.
“Our employees and contracted services are dealing with the consequences of the damage,” Naftogaz said on the Telegram messenger on Wednesday.
Tara Cobham28 November 2024 10:00
Russia mounts second big attack on energy sites this month leaving one million people without power
Russia unleashed its second big attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this month on Thursday, cutting power to more than 1 million people in the west, south, and center of the country, officials said.
Damage to the energy and other critical infrastructure was reported by officials in Lviv, Volyn, Rivne and Khmelnytskyi regions in the west, the Mykolayiv and Kherson regions in the south, and Zhytomyr region in the centre.
The attack reinforced fears of long power cuts during the winter months as temperatures across Ukraine hover around zero.
“Another Russian missile and drone barrage, targeting civilians and energy grid, causing power outages across Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Ukrainian officials said it was the 11th major strike on the Ukrainian energy system since March. Russia had knocked out about half of Ukraine’s available generating capacity, damaged the distribution system and forced long blackouts.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions in Thursday’s attack, calling it a “despicable escalation”.
Ukrainian air defence shot down 79 out of 91 Russian missiles and downed 35 drones, the air force said.
A source in the energy sector source said Ukraine disconnected several nuclear power units from the network amid the Russian attack. Ukraine relies on nuclear generation for more than 50 per cent of its electricity supplies.
The capital Kyiv was targeted but all missiles or drones were downed, officials said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Thursday’s attack. Russia denies targeting civilian targets.
Tara Cobham28 November 2024 09:43
Russia returns seven children to Ukraine after mediation by Qatar, state news agency reports
Russia returned seven children to Ukraine following mediation efforts by Qatar, the TASS state news agency reported on Thursday.
Qatar has acted as a mediator several times between Russia and Ukraine to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children since the start of the war.
Tara Cobham28 November 2024 09:30
Zelensky says Russia used cluster munitions to attack power sector and condemns ‘despicable escalation’
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Thursday, calling it a “despicable escalation.”
Zelenskiy reiterated his call to Kyiv’s Western allies to provide more air defence and ensure timely deliveries, especially during critical winter months as Ukraine struggles to protect its energy infrastructure from the strikes.
Tara Cobham28 November 2024 09:18
Ukraine’s military says it downed 79 missiles and 35 drones during Russia’s attack
Ukraine’s air force has said it shot down 79 out of 91 missiles launched by Russia during its attack targeting the country’s energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian military shot down 35 drones and lost track of 62 out of 97 drones launched by Russia in the attack, it said on Thursday.
Tara Cobham28 November 2024 09:07
Ukraine disconnected several nuclear power units amid Russian attack, Ukraine source says
Ukraine disconnected several nuclear power units from the network amid Russian attacks on energy infrastructure on Thursday, a Ukrainian energy industry source told Reuters.
Tara Cobham28 November 2024 09:06
One million people without power in western Ukraine after Russian attack
At least one million people are without any power after Russian attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight across three western region, officials said.
The attacks cut power to 523,000 consumers in Lviv region, about 215,000 in Volyn region and over 280,000 in Rivne region, their governors reported on the Telegram channels.
Arpan Rai28 November 2024 08:13
Thousands without power as Russia mounts ‘massive’ missile attack on Ukraine
Russia hit Ukraine with a “massive” missile attack on energy infrastructure across several cities overnight, officials said. It represents Russia’s second big attack on the besieged country’s energy grid this month.
Officials confirmed massive blasts and power cuts across the country, affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
“Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy’s massive strike,” Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook. Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo introduced emergency power cuts amid the attack, Mr Galushchenko said.
Ukraine’s top private power company DTEK said the power cuts impacted the capital as well as the Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
During the overnight missile attack on the western Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said 280,000 consumers experienced power cuts. He also reported interruptions in water supply without elaborating on damage.
The mayor of the western town of Lutsk reported power cuts after several strikes, adding that the services were working to connect water and heating infrastructure to alternative power sources.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said a missile strike on the city damaged a business facility and windows in an apartment building.
The missile attack on the northeastern Sumy region targeted infrastructure, regional authorities said. Debris in Kyiv fell on the grounds of a business and dealt minor damage to several buildings and a truck, the Kyiv city military administration said.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, particularly during the winter months of the almost three-year-long war, which have triggered long power cuts for ordinary civilians.
Arpan Rai28 November 2024 08:03
Russia warns US against ‘spiral of escalation’ but says it will keep channels open
Russia has issued a warning to the United States to halt what it called a “spiral of escalation” over Ukraine – but said it would keep informing Washington about test missile launches in order to avoid “dangerous mistakes”.
Speaking just days after Russia lowered its doctrinal threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and launched what it described as a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said: “The signal is very clear and obvious – stop.
“You should not do this any more, you mustn’t supply Kyiv with everything they want, don’t encourage them towards new military adventures, they are too dangerous,” Russian state media quoted Mr Ryabkov as saying.
“The current [US] administration must stop this spiral of escalation,” Mr Ryabkov added. “They simply must, otherwise the situation will become too dangerous for everyone, including the United States itself.”
Andy Gregory28 November 2024 08:00
Russia downs 25 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 25 Ukrainian drones overnight over four regions, its defence ministry said this morning.
Of these, 14 drones were destroyed over the Krasnodar region, six over the Bryansk region, three over Moscow-annexed Crimea and two over the Rostov region, it said.
Krasnodar’s regional governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, wrote on Telegram that two districts in the southern Russian region were subjected to a “massive drone attack” overnight. One civilian was injured, he said.
A local Telegram channel published footage showing an object crashing into a building in the town of Slavyansk-na-Kubani, followed by a loud boom and fireball.
Arpan Rai28 November 2024 07:02
