Russia launched a major aerial attack on Ukrainian energy facilities on Friday, marking one of the largest strikes on the country’s power grid this year, causing widespread power outages during freezing winter temperatures, Reuters reports.
The attack involved 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones, with Ukrainian air defenses intercepting 81 missiles. The strikes damaged power substations, gas infrastructure, and thermal power plants, leading to extended power cuts across several regions, including Lviv and Kyiv, with outages lasting up to 11 hours.
Russia framed the strikes as retaliation for Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russian military airfields using US-supplied ATACMS missiles. Moscow claims its assaults target critical energy infrastructure tied to Ukraine’s military capabilities, while Ukraine and its allies denounce the attacks as terrorism against civilians.
