KYIV – Russian forces have always displayed an inclination to attack infrastructure targets in Ukraine during the course of the current war. Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday, damaging energy facilities in five regions across Ukraine, officials said.
Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo said the attack damaged energy facilities in the eastern Donetsk, southeastern Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, central Kyrovohrad region, and Ivano-Frankivsk region in the west.
“Today morning the Russians launched another strike on Ukrainian energy facilities. Since March it is already the sixth massive, complex, missile and drone attack against the civilian energy infrastructure,” Ukrenergo said.
Ukrainian air defence claims to have shot down 35 of 53 Russian missiles and 46 of 47 Russian drones, the air force commander said. Should such large numbers of Russian missiles being shot be true, it presents a formidable state of Ukrainian Air Defence in the areas of attack. However, the acceptance of the fact that the missiles have found their targets in five regions, does reflect the Russian ability to go past the Air Defence shield.
Since March, Russia has stepped up its bombardments of the Ukrainian power infrastructure, knocking out the bulk of the thermal and hydropower generation, causing blackouts, and pushing electricity imports to record highs. Russians have learnt from their own experiences and have definitely improved their targeting capabilities. They seem also to have enhanced their production/ procurement of precision weapons, thus causing more losses. The Ukrainians continue to fight with one arm tied behind their back.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy-generating company, said that during the attack its two thermal power plants had been hit and equipment “seriously damaged.”
Regional officials reported that firefighters were extinguishing fires on several sites following the strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Team Bharatshakti
