Russia launches barrage of 99 drones and missiles on Ukraine’s vitality system, officers say

Moscow launched a large-scale assault on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure Friday, with a mass barrage of 99 drones and missiles hitting areas throughout the nation, Ukraine’s armed forces stated.

Air raid warnings rang out throughout the nation, with 10 Ukrainian areas coming below hearth, the nation’s inside minister, Ihor Klymenko, stated.

Russia has escalated its assaults on Ukraine in current days, launching a number of missile barrages on the capital, Kyiv, and hitting vitality infrastructure throughout the nation in obvious retaliation for current Ukrainian aerial assaults on the Russian border region of Belgorod. Such sporadic assaults, nonetheless, have been widespread all through the struggle.

Giant-scale blackouts have already affected Ukraine’s jap metropolis of Kharkiv, the place 700,000 individuals misplaced energy after town’s thermal energy plant was hit in a drone and missile assault on March 22.

Within the winter of 2022-23, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, inflicting frequent blackouts. Many in Ukraine and the West anticipated that Russia would possibly repeat that technique this winter, however Russia as an alternative initially targeted its strikes on Ukraine’s protection industries.

Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, stated Friday’s assault intentionally focused thermal and hydroelectric energy crops throughout central and western areas.

In a press release, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine’s Kaniv and Dniester hydroelectric energy stations had come below assault and accused Moscow of risking an ecological catastrophe much like the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023.

Each Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of destroying the dam, however the varied Russian allegations — that it was hit by a missile or taken down by explosives — fail to account for a blast so robust that it registered on seismic displays within the area.

The dam’s destruction led to lethal flooding, endangered crops, threatened consuming water provides for 1000’s and unleashed an environmental catastrophe.

Zelenskyy additionally warned that different nations could be threatened if the dams had been hit. Dnister Hydroelectric station, positioned close to town of Novodnistrovsk, Ukraine, is roughly 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Moldova.

“Not only is Ukraine under threat, but Moldova too,” Zelenskyy stated. “The water will not stop in front of the border.”

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest personal electrical energy operator, additionally stated that three of its thermal energy crops had been broken within the assaults. It introduced emergency energy shutdowns within the metropolis of Odesa, leaving a number of neighborhoods with out energy.

5 individuals, together with a 5-year-old woman, had been wounded through the assault in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk area, stated native Gov. Serhii Lysak.

He later stated that one other man had been killed and yet one more injured in a separate drone assault Friday.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian police stated rescuers had recovered the physique of a 66-year-old lady from a constructing within the Mykolaiv area that was hit by a Russian missile Thursday evening.

The bombardment within the west of Ukraine brought on the Polish Armed Forces to scramble its personal plane, the nation’s operational command stated on social media.

Final week, Warsaw demanded an evidence from Moscow after one among its missiles strayed briefly into Polish airspace throughout a serious missile assault on Ukraine, prompting the NATO member to activate F-16 fighter jets.

Romania’s protection ministry additionally stated on Friday that an investigation has been launched after fragments that seemed to be from a drone had been recognized on its territory Thursday night in an agricultural space of Braila county, near the border with Ukraine.

It didn’t present extra particulars, though for the reason that begin of Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, NATO member Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on a number of events.

Belgorod additionally got here below hearth Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Protection wrote on social media. It stated that it shot down 15 Ukrainian shells, with falling particles damaging quite a lot of residential buildings. No casualties had been reported.

Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov later stated on social media that one man had died as the results of a separate drone assault which struck an residence block.