The attacks targeted energy infrastructures and facilities supporting Kiev’s military, the Defense Ministry has said
FILE PHOTO. © Sputnik/Andrey Kataev Russia has conducted a large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy and military-industrial infrastructure, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has confirmed. In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said that the barrage had involved long-range air- and sea-based weapons, as well as drones, and targeted “critical energy infrastructure supporting the work of Ukraine’s defense industrial complex as well as plants producing military equipment.” “All designated targets have been hit,” the statement added, without providing further details. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media and officials had reported a wave of attacks across much of the country, with the national power company implementing emergency blackouts. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga called the barrage “one of the largest air attacks,” adding that it was Kremlin’s “true response to all those who called and visited him recently,” in an apparent reference to a recent phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Read more According to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, the strike involved around 120 missiles, including hypersonic ones, and 90 drones, but claimed that the country’s air defenses had destroyed more than 140 incoming targets. He also admitted that the attacks had damaged several unspecified facilities, adding that the strike on Nikolayev had killed two people and injured six. According to local officials, there has been damage to energy infrastructure in Volyn Region, blackouts in Poltava Region, and issues with water service in Odessa. Several explosions were also reported in Vinnitsa and Lviv Regions. Russian officials had previously said that the strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are in retaliation for Kiev’s attacks on Russia’s critical infrastructure and oil facilities. They have also emphasized that these attacks never target Ukrainian civilians.
