Russia Targets Ukraine Power System With New Missile Strike

Explosions could be heard in Kyiv Thursday morning as Russia targeted Ukraine’s power system in a new air assault, the second large-scale barrage this month.

(Bloomberg) — Explosions could be heard in Kyiv Thursday morning as Russia targeted Ukraine’s power system in a new air assault, the second large-scale barrage this month. 

Russian forces attacked infrastructure throughout Ukraine for the 11th time this year, power grid operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram without elaborating on damage. Emergency electricity cuts were enacted across the country, including in the capital Kyiv. 

The country’s air force reported downing 79 out of 91 missiles as well as 35 out of 97 Shahed drones. This was the second large-scale barrage this month after Russia launched about 120 missiles and 90 drones on Nov. 17.

“The target is our energy,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement on X.

Several regions reported strikes by Kalibr missiles equipped with cluster munitions, deliberately aimed at civilian infrastructure, Zelenskiy said. The Ukrainian president called the use of cluster munitions a “vile escalation,” saying that it complicated the work of emergency services.

While Ukrainian authorities reported no damage as all missiles were downed, other regions suffered more. Missiles massively disrupted electricity supply in western Ukraine, where more than 1.3 million residents lost power in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne and Volyn regions, local governors said on Telegram. Power disruptions and damage from missile debris were also reported in other regions. 

Russia continued its creeping advance along the frontline, making gains in the Khariv and Luhansk regions, according to the DeepState map service which is managed in cooperation with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Ukrainian troops also re-captured Daryino village in Russia’s Kursk region, where Moscow’s troops seek to oust Ukrainian forces from an area captured in a surprise incursion earlier this year.

(Updates with details on power cuts from second paragraph)