Russia launches large-scale assault on Ukrainian power system at Christmas | International | EUROtoday

Russia has launched an enormous mixed assault on Ukraine’s power infrastructure to go away the nation in darkness in the midst of Christmas. Moscow started firing drones on Christmas Eve. On the morning of December 25, it launched ballistic and cruise missiles that traveled via the nation’s frozen sky. One particular person has died and at the least 4 have been injured. It is the thirteenth time this yr that Moscow has attacked the Ukrainian power system.

This is the second yr that Ukraine celebrates Christmas on December 25, as a substitute of January 7, the normal date of Russian Orthodox Christianity. “[El presidente ruso Vladímir] Putin has purposely chosen Christmas to attack. “What could be more inhumane?” Volodymyr Zelensky denounced in X. “They continue fighting to plunge Ukraine into a blackout,” he lamented.

The Ukrainian Air Force has reported that the attack included two KN-23 ballistic missiles along with other rockets such as the S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft missiles, Kalibr and Kh-101/Kh-55cm cruise missiles, and Kh-55cm. 59/Kh-69. 106 drones have also been counted, including Shahed and simulators. The Ukrainian defenses claim that they have shot down 113 of the 184 projectiles launched, and that the location of 52 drones has been lost.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv has been one of the worst affected. Four civilians have been injured, according to regional governor Oleg Sinegubov, who had previously reported six. As detailed, Russia launched 12 missiles against the city. “All of them directed against our thermal plants, our cogeneration plants and electrical installations,” he defined. “As a result of the attack on heating and electricity installations, a significant part of Kharkiv is without heat,” Sinegubov reported. After the missiles, a number of Shaheds drones have additionally broken residential buildings.

The assaults focused power amenities within the areas of Kharkiv, kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Zhitomir, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zaporizhzhia, in accordance with the Armed Forces. The head of the Military Administration of the Dnipro area, Sergii Lisak, has reported one dying from the assault. On Christmas Eve, a missile launch in Krivi Rih prompted one dying and 15 accidents.

Russia has assured that “the massive attack with long-range precision weapons and drones was aimed at “critical facilities of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that support the work of the military-industrial complex.” In a press release, the Russian Ministry of Defense acknowledged: “The target of the attack was achieved. “All facilities have been hit.”

“The enemy attacks the energy again massively. The transmission network manager takes the necessary consumption restriction measures to minimize the negative consequences for the energy system,” Energy Minister German Galushchenkosaid wrote on Facebook shortly earlier than seven, when the assault was nonetheless ongoing. .

The operator of the electrical transmission system in Ukraine, Ukrenergo, introduced energy cuts in a number of areas. The nation’s largest non-public power firm, DTEK, reported “serious damage” to thermal energy technology crops, with out reporting the places the place they’ve been reported. Specialists are assessing the injury and dealing to restore it, he added.

The assault has additionally affected water and fuel installations in some locations. Due to the facility outage of booster pumping stations, a lower in water provide stress has been recorded in some areas of Dnipro, in accordance with the municipal firm Dniprovodokanal KP. Regional authorities have reported that in Kirovograd the bombing has affected a fuel pipeline close to properties.

After the depth of the drone motion, which is normally a prelude to a missile assault, after 1 a.m. the Ukrainian Air Forces introduced the takeoff of a number of TU-95MS plane from the Olenya air base, within the Russian area of Murmansk. When there was now not any doubt that the assault was imminent at daybreak, the Telegram channel War Monitor, a reference within the warning and monitoring of the assaults, additionally warned that the Russian military had deployed missile frigates within the Black Sea. The anti-aircraft alert was activated all through the nation and at 5:30 the launch of Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea started.

A missile crossed the airspace of Moldova and Romania for 140 kilometers, in accordance with the Ukrainian Air Force. It handed from the Yampil district to the Chernivtsi area, flying over the airspace of each nations. “A reminder that Russia does not only threaten Ukraine,” wrote the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sibiga, in X. Poland, given the menace {that a} projectile geared toward border areas in western Ukraine may sneak into its territory , as has already occurred on a number of events, activated fight plane. The floor air protection and radar reconnaissance techniques reached the utmost state of readiness, as reported by the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces.

Repeated assaults since spring 2024 have broken nearly half of Ukraine’s energy technology capability and prompted blackouts throughout the nation. December started with every day outages for stretches of a median of six hours, whereas {the electrical} grid recovered from the assault on November 28. On December 13, Moscow launched one other 193 drones and 94 cruise and ballistic missiles. After just a few first days of longer outages whereas restore work was carried out, the final week the electrical energy had flowed with out time restrictions in areas equivalent to kyiv.