Massive Russian missile attack forces Ukraine to introduce preventive power cuts

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing the country to introduce preventive power cuts, the Ukrainian energy minister said.

“The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainians,” Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook, urging residents to stay in shelters during the air raid alerts and follow official updates.

Moscow launched more than 40 missiles, and at least 30 were shot down, said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding about 70 strike drones were involved in the attack. It remains unclear how many were intercepted.

The state energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad regions.

The attack comes a day after the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of firing multiple Western-made missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, claiming in an online statement that the attack “will not go unanswered.” Kyiv has not confirmed the attack.

However, during the almost 3-year war, Russian forces have persistently attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to plunge the country into darkness and exhaustion during the winter months.

And Wednesday’s attack has further exacerbated the strain on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“It is the middle of the winter, and Russia’s goal remains unchanged: our energy infrastructure.,” said Zelenslyy on Telegram, following the attack.

He urged Western partners to provide Ukraine with additional air defense weapons, emphasizing that “promises have been made but not yet fully realized.”

Russian forces launched missile strikes targeting energy infrastructure in the western Lviv region early Wednesday, said the city’s mayor, Andrii Sadovyi.

“During the morning attack, enemy cruise missiles were recorded in the region,” he said.

Lviv regional head Maksym Kozytskyi said Russia hit and damaged two infrastructure facilities in the area of Drohobych and Stryi. No casualties were reported, he added.

Ukraine’s air force detected multiple missile groups launched by Russia during a nationwide air-raid alert, though initial reports indicated no damage.