A major Russian drone and missile attack has left over one million people in Ukraine without power, after a coordinated assault on the country’s energy grid overnight. The attack, which lasted for several hours, involved waves of drones and missiles traveling across Ukraine, marking the second such strike this month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that cluster munitions were specifically used to target civilian and energy infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia launched 90 missiles and 100 drones in retaliation for Ukraine’s recent use of UK- and US-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory. He said the strike was a response to Ukrainian attacks with ATACMS missiles and that Russian forces were targeting decision-making centers in Kyiv.
Last week, Ukraine carried out its first attack on Russian territory using Western-supplied missiles since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, which led to retaliatory strikes from Russia in recent days.
Explosions were reported in several cities, including Odesa, Kharkiv, and Lutsk, with Kyiv also targeted. However, Ukrainian authorities claimed that all missiles aimed at the capital were intercepted. The attack lasted nearly nine-and-a-half hours, and at least 12 regions, including three in the west, were affected. Emergency power outages have been implemented across the country.
Zelensky condemned the attack, stating that Russia’s focus was on Ukraine’s energy system. He added that the use of cluster munitions made it more difficult for emergency teams to respond to the damage, calling it a “very mean escalation” in the conflict.
