Russia launches massive attack against energy infrastructure in 15 regions of Ukraine | International

The sound of explosions reverberated through the centre of Kiev during the morning rush hour on Monday, as the Ukrainian military warned of a massive Russian missile and drone attack following waves of drones in the early hours. The air force warned the population that Russia had 11 Tu-95 strategic bombers in the air and confirmed the launch of several missiles. At least three civilians have been killed in several regions of the country due to a massive attack targeting energy infrastructure. Reuters has confirmed the death of one of its team members in the attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk this Sunday.

According to several official spokesmen, the attack by Russia was primarily targeted at the energy sector. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmihal, more than half of Ukraine’s territory was hit by massive Russian missile and drone strikes early Monday. “Today, 15 regions have been hit by a massive Russian attack. The enemy used several types of weapons: drones, cruise missiles and Kinzhal (supersonic missiles). There have been injuries and deaths,” Shmihal reported on the Telegram messaging application.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klychko confirmed that power was cut in some districts of the capital and power sector companies declared emergency cuts as a result of the attack.

A Ukrainian citizen was killed on Monday morning in the city of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine, and two others lost their lives in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk (center) and Zaporizhia (southeast).

“As a result of the enemy’s attack, an infrastructure has been damaged in Lutsk. At the moment we have information about one death,” the city’s mayor, Igor Polishchuk, who earlier reported damage to a residential building, wrote on his Telegram account.

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According to the governor of the region, Sergei Lysak, a 69-year-old man was killed during the attack in Dnipropetrovsk. For his part, the head of the Zaporizhia military administration, Ivan Fedorov, has reported the death of one person in the region.

The operational command of the Polish armed forces reported on the X social network that Polish and allied aviation was activated after Russia launched the attack, which also targeted western Ukraine and areas near the border with Poland.

Expected invasion

Ukrainians have been waiting for a major Russian missile attack for some time. The US embassy last week warned of a high risk of attack around Ukraine’s Independence Day, which was on Saturday.

Ukraine has also stepped up long-range drone strikes against Russia in an attempt to hit back at Moscow. “The desire to destroy our energy will cost the Russians dearly: their infrastructure,” President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak declared in a message on Telegram.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia launched two waves of drone attacks early Monday. Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kiev military administration, said on Telegram that 10 drones were destroyed while moving towards Kiev.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced that its air defence systems had destroyed nine drones in the Saratov region, located about 900 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Earlier, regional governor Roman Basurgin reported that emergency services were deployed to the affected locations in the region’s major cities of Saratov and Engels, several hundred kilometres southeast of the capital. Russia has a strategic bomber military base in Engels that has been attacked by Ukraine several times since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both Russia and Ukraine deny attacking civilians. Each says their attacks are aimed at destroying infrastructure vital to the other’s war effort.

Attack on the press in Kramatorsk

A Russian attack on the city of Kramatorsk near the Donetsk front on Sunday killed a member of the Reuters reporting team, a security consultant, and injured three journalists.

“Ryan Evans, a member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine, was killed and two Reuters journalists were injured in an attack on a hotel in the city of Kramatorsk,” the international news agency confirmed on Sunday. According to other versions, a fourth Polish informant was injured when his vehicle was hit by a vehicle.

“In the middle of the night, the Russians attacked Kramatorsk. One of the targets in the city was a hotel. At the moment we know of two injured and one person is still buried under the rubble,” Donetsk Governor Vadim Filyashkin said on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

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