Russia mounts massive attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Kyiv: 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 Zelenskyy 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% 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.

The war that broke out when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 is now at a critical juncture, with Russian ground forces advancing at their fastest pace so far this year in eastern Donetsk region.

Russia fired a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile on Ukraine this month in response to the U.S. and Britain allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not want peace. We must force him into peace through strength," Sybiha said, reiterating Kyiv's call for more air defence and long-range capabilities from its Western allies.

Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyi said Thursday's Russian strikes cut off electricity to about 523,000 people in the western region on Ukraine's border with Poland.

Power supplies were also cut to nearly 500,000 people in the Volyn and Rivne regions, the governors said. Electricity supplies were also disrupted in Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr regions, officials said.

Regional officials across the country said they were turning on generators to ensure emergency heat and water supplies to hospitals, schools and other critical facilities during bitter winter weather.

The loud hum of generators was also heard in Kyiv city as many Ukrainian small and medium businesses rely on generators for their electricity supplies during the blackouts.