Overnight Russian attacks are said to have been carried out in Kyiv as well as Kharkiv, Lutsk, Mykolaiv, Rivne and Odesa – leaving a huge swathe of the population without basic power
Residents in Ukraine have been ordered to take shelter after a slew of Russian strikes overnight left millions without power.
The Kremlin is said to have attacked their enemy with drone and cruise missile strikes which have decimated part of the country’s power grid. The overnight attacks are said to have been carried out in Kyiv as well as Kharkiv, Lutsk, Mykolaiv, Rivne and Odesa and have left a huge swathe of the population without basic power.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook: “Again, energy is under a massive blow of the enemy. Attacks on energy objects occur throughout Ukraine. The operator of the NEC Ukrenergo transmission system urgently introduced an emergency power outage. As soon as the security situation will be allowed, the consequences will be specified.”
It follows an earlier post this month, which read: “There is another mass attack on the energy system. The enemy attacks objects of generation and transmission of electricity throughout Ukraine. The operator of the transmission system urgently introduced the mode of emergency power outages. Where possible, rescuers and energy workers are already working on eliminating the consequences. The light will prevail.”
Last week Ukraine targeted Russia with ATACMS long-range missiles from the US hours before Vladimir Putin approved his new nuclear doctrine . The strike hit a military facility near the city of Karachev, in the region of Bryansk Oblast, which is located about 130km – 80 miles – from the Ukrainian border overnight.
Initially, the strike was reported by a source linked to the Ukrainian Defence Forces, but the Russian Defence Ministry has now confirmed it too. The source said: “Indeed, ATACMS was used for the first time to strike the territory of the Russian Federation. The strike was carried out on a facility in the Bryansk region, it was successfully destroyed.”
The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck six missiles – of which five were shot down and one “damaged”. Fragments of a damaged ATACMS missile launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces fell on the “technical territory” of a military facility in Bryansk region, the ministry admitted, and a fire ignited. No casualties have been reported.
According to Russian media group RBC, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council, said the arsenal contained artillery ammunition, including North Korean shells. There were also guided aerial bombs, anti-aircraft missiles, and ammunition for multiple rocket launchers, according to the report.