Russia Launches New Widespread Attack on Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure
Russia launched another large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, triggering emergency power outages across the country, CNN reports, citing Ukrainian authorities.
The assault, which involved ballistic and cruise missiles, forced Ukrainians to seek shelter as air raid sirens blared.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Halushchenko confirmed the attack.
Streets in Kyiv remained largely deserted Friday morning as the threat of further missile strikes persisted. Ukrenergo, the national energy grid operator, implemented emergency power outages nationwide in response to the attack.
The attacks come just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of further strikes, including the use of new nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, in response to the ongoing Ukrainian strikes and the approval by President Joe Biden for Kyiv to use long-range missiles within Russia – a move that Moscow has condemned as a potential escalation of the conflict.
In addition, Thursday’s attack follows Moscow’s vow to retaliate for a Ukrainian strike on a city in southwest Russia, Moscow stated. The attack involved six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles.
The United States announced a new $500 million aid package for Ukraine on Thursday, which will include equipment from US military stocks. A senior administration official said that the Biden administration is accelerating the delivery of weapons to Ukraine in a final push before the end of the year.
