Russia launches 'massive strike' on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Russia has launched a “massive” nationwide onslaught targeting Ukraine’s vigor infrastructure.

Explosions were heard successful the Ukrainian cities of Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi, Kharkiv, Rivne and Lutsk connected Thursday morning, Ukrainian quality outlets Zerkalo Tyzhnya and Suspilne said.

Further explosions could besides beryllium heard successful the Ukrainian superior of Kyiv, though the city’s politician Vitali Klitschko said aerial defences were moving connected Thursday.

Ukraine's aerial unit antecedently announced a nationwide alert that warned that Russia had launched 7 Tu-95 strategical bombers, the Kyiv Independent reports.

"Energy infrastructure is erstwhile again targeted by the enemy's monolithic strike," Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote connected Facebook.

Ukraine's apical backstage powerfulness institution DTEK said the powerfulness cuts impacted the superior arsenic good arsenic Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

During the Thursday rocket onslaught connected the occidental Rivne region, politician Oleksandr Koval said 280,000 consumers experienced powerfulness cuts. He besides reported interruptions successful h2o proviso without elaborating connected damage.

The politician of the occidental municipality of Lutsk reported powerfulness cuts aft respective strikes, adding that the services were moving to link h2o and heating infrastructure to alternate powerfulness sources.

Andriy Yermak, the caput of Ukraine's Presidential Office, said connected Thursday that Russia was deliberately stockpiling weapons, including arms from North Korea, to motorboat wide attacks connected cities and infrastructure.

"They stockpiled missiles for strikes connected Ukrainian infrastructure, for warfare against civilians during the cold, during the winter," Yermak said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said connected Sunday that Russia had launched much than 800 KAB-guided aerial bombs, astir 460 onslaught drones, and much than 20 missiles implicit the past week.

"The force continues to onslaught Kharkiv with missiles," metropolis politician Ihor Terekhov wrote connected the Telegram messaging app.

Odesa determination politician Oleh Kiper urged residents to enactment successful structure successful a abstracted message.

Meanwhile, Russia's aerial defence systems destroyed 25 Ukrainian drones overnight implicit 4 regions, the Defence Ministry said connected Thursday.

Fourteen of the drones were destroyed implicit the Krasnodar region, six implicit the Bryansk region, 3 implicit Moscow-annexed Crimea and 2 implicit the Rostov region, it said.

Krasnodar's determination governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, wrote connected Telegram that 2 districts successful the confederate Russian portion were subjected to a "massive drone attack" overnight. One civilian was injured, helium said.

A section Telegram transmission published footage showing an entity crashing into a gathering successful the municipality of Slavyansk-na-Kubani, followed by a large roar and fireball. It could not beryllium instantly verified.