Russia Attacks Ukraine’s Energy System and Cities, Wounding Six in Kharkiv
Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy system and cities in the eastern region on Wednesday morning, according to Ukraine’s energy minister and local officials. The attack, which involved cruise and ballistic missiles, wounded at least six people in Kharkiv, said Oleh Syniehubov, the region’s governor.
Kharkiv was hit by ballistic missiles, causing “damages to civilian non-residential infrastructure”, according to Syniehubov. Meanwhile, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak reported that the region’s power system was being targeted by the Russian army.
Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, said that Russia was “massively attacking the power sector” and that the transmission system operator had imposed restrictions on electricity supply to minimize the impact. The attack follows a series of incidents that have damaged almost half of Ukraine’s generating capacity, causing hours-long blackouts throughout the country.
The Ukrainian military launched a countrywide air alert in response to the Russian cruise missile launches, while local authorities and the air force reported missile overflights in the eastern, central, southern, and western regions.
The country’s largest private energy company, DTEK, reported that its generating facilities were attacked, causing “serious damages” to power equipment. It was the 13th massive attack on Ukraine’s energy sector and the 10th on DTEK’s energy facilities.
The attack comes days after a previous massive missile attack on November 17, which saw Russia launch 120 missiles and 90 drones, killing at least seven people and causing severe damage to the power system. At the time, DTEK imposed emergency power cuts of up to eight hours across large parts of Ukraine.