KYIV, Ukraine — Russia conducted a “massive” attack against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday, firing nearly 200 missiles and drones and leaving more than a million households without power, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia’s second major aerial attack on Ukraine’s power grid in less than two weeks amplified fears that the Kremlin aims to cripple the country’s power generation capacity before winter.
“Attacks on energy facilities are happening all over Ukraine,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in a post on Facebook. He added that emergency power outages were implemented nationwide.
Russia in previous years has targeted Ukraine’s electricity generation, aiming to deny civilians critical heating and drinking water supplies during the bitter winter months and break Ukrainian spirits. The attacks also seek to hobble Ukraine’s defense industry that is now producing missiles, drones and armored vehicles, among other military assets.
In some regions on Thursday, Kalibr cruise missiles with cluster munitions smashed into civilian targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, calling it “an insidious escalation.” Cluster munitions release numerous small bombs over a wide area, making them dangerous to civilians both during and after an attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed his forces struck 17 Ukrainian targets Thursday, including military facilities and their “support systems,” with 100 drones and 90 missiles.
It was the 11th massive combined attack by Russia on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this year.
But the Ukrainian air force claimed to have shot down 76 cruise missiles and three other types of missile as well as 32 drones. It added that it lost track of 62 Russian drones, which most likely were jammed by electronic warfare.
Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.
Ukrainian officials have warned recently that Russia was stockpiling cruise and ballistic missiles, presumably for another pre-winter aerial campaign against Ukraine’s power grid. Ukrainian officials have in the past accused Russia of “weaponizing winter.” Such massive attacks have been a regular feature of the war.
Around half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed during the almost three years of war with Russia, and rolling electricity blackouts are common. Kyiv’s Western allies have sought to help Ukraine protect power generation with air defense systems and funds for rebuilding.
Last March, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for two high-ranking Russian military officers on war crimes charges linked to attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, including power plants and electricity sub-stations.
The war has been going in Russia’s favor in recent months as its bigger army uses its advantages in manpower and equipment to push Ukrainian forces backward in eastern areas, though its offensive has been slow and costly.
