Russian forces launched massive air attacks on Ukraine overnight, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday describing it as “one of the largest attacks on our power grid.”
Zelensky said on Telegram that Russian forces fired more than 90 missiles at the country’s energy sector, with 81 of the missiles shot down.
Eleven cruise missiles were intercepted by Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets, Zelensky said.
Before the missiles were fired, Russia had apparently deployed almost 200 combat drones to Ukraine.
Zelensky renewed his calls for Western allies to supply more air defence systems to put a stop to the strikes.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that the wave of attacks was carried out with drones and missiles, as well as with MiG-31 combat jets equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
The Kinzhal missiles were fired at western Ukrainian targets near the Burshtyn heating plant and the Starokostiantyniv military airbase, military observers said. A number of cruise missiles had struck in the Odessa region in southern Ukraine as well, they said.
There was initially no confirmation of the scale of the attacks.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko posted on Facebook that the energy sector had again come under massive attack.
Precautionary power cuts were introduced in a number of regions to prevent grid overload.
Four people were injured in the Kharkiv region in the north-east, the regional military governor, Oleh Syniehubov, posted on Telegram. Kharkiv City Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that a drone had struck a residential building.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the cold winter months since launching their full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukrainian forces under pressure
At the front line in eastern Ukraine, the situation for the Ukrainian forces continues to deteriorate, according to military observers.
An unspecified number of soldiers were threatened with being surrounded south of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, they said.
The Ukrainian General Staff did not provide any details, but only reported heavy fighting around Kurachove. Pokrovsk, about an hour’s drive to the north, is also said to be fiercely contested.
According to reports, Russian troops have made several advances there in recent days. More civilians who had remained in the city despite the danger were evacuated to safety.
