Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with 99 drones and missiles hitting various regions across the country, resulting in air raid warnings across 10 Ukrainian regions. Russia escalated its attacks in retaliation for recent Ukrainian aerial attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod. Large-scale blackouts have already affected Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv, where 700,000 people lost power after the city’s thermal power plant was hit in a drone and missile attack in March 2022. Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the winter of 2022-23, causing frequent blackouts. Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator confirmed that thermal and hydroelectric power plants across central and western regions were deliberately targeted in the recent attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of risking an ecological disaster similar to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023 by targeting hydroelectric power stations. He warned that other countries, including Moldova, could be threatened if the dams were hit. Ukraine’s largest private electricity operator, DTEK, reported that three of its thermal power plants had been damaged in the attacks, leading to emergency power shutdowns in Odesa. Casualties from the attacks included five wounded individuals in Dnipropetrovsk region, with one man killed in a separate drone attack. A 66-year-old woman was also found dead in a building in the Mykolaiv region hit by a Russian missile. The bombardment in western Ukraine caused the Polish Armed Forces to scramble aircraft, with one man reported dead from a drone attack in Belgorod.
Warsaw demanded an explanation from Moscow after a missile briefly strayed into Polish airspace during a major attack on Ukraine, prompting the activation of F-16 fighter jets. Romania’s defense ministry initiated an investigation after fragments from a drone were found in Braila county, close to the Ukrainian border. Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belgorod also came under fire, with Russian forces shooting down 15 Ukrainian shells, resulting in damage to residential buildings. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported one casualty due to a separate drone attack on an apartment block.
The attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and hydroelectric power stations have raised concerns about a potential ecological disaster similar to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023. President Zelenskyy warned that Moldova could also be at risk if dams were targeted. The damage to thermal power plants has resulted in emergency power shutdowns in various cities, leaving neighborhoods without electricity. Casualties from the attacks include several wounded individuals and fatalities in different regions, highlighting the human cost of the conflict. The involvement of neighboring countries like Poland and Romania, with incidents of stray missiles and drone fragments on their territories, adds to the complexity and regional implications of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
