Russia launched hundreds of rockets and drones, and 25 locations were hit, including the capital Kiev, leaving many areas without electricity and heating, the BBC reports.
In the attack on a residential building in Dnipro, two people were killed, while 12 were wounded, and three victims were recorded in Zaporizhia. Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko confirmed on Telegram that key energy facilities in the Poltava, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions were damaged.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported power outages in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhia, Odesa and Kirovohrad, but Sviridenko added that emergency services were working to restore and that key facilities had already been reconnected, while water supplies were being maintained using generators.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles during the night. They claim that the anti-aircraft defense managed to shoot down nine missiles and 406 drones.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces shot down 79 Ukrainian drones. Russia continues to maintain that its strikes on energy infrastructure are aimed solely at the Ukrainian military.
Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy on the eve of winter have become a common pattern of war. Analysts believe that this, the fourth winter since the beginning of the invasion, will be a big test for the resilience of the Ukrainian defense.
Ministers in Kiev express concern that Moscow is not only trying to break the morale of the population with these attacks, but also to stop the entire economy by collapsing the energy network.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that these attacks show that there must be “no exceptions” to Western sanctions on Russian energy.
His reaction came just hours after the United States granted Hungary a one-year exemption from restrictions on buying Russian oil and gas.
(Vijesti.ba)
