A salvo of more at least 76 Russian missiles knocked out power and water across Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin’s forces continued their campaign of attacking infrastructure.
Rockets slammed into residential areas across the country on Friday. The capital, Kyiv, was targeted by 40 alone, although air defense forces shot down 37. Overall, Ukrainian forces downed 60 of the missiles, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram.
“This was one of the most massive attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion” in February, he said.
The attack underscores Moscow’s focus on pounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in an attempt to weaken the nation’s resolve to resist Putin’s invasion.
Russia used Tupolev Tu-95 aircraft from the Engels air base for the first time in the almost 10-month old conflict, Ukrainian Air Defense spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. The turboprop-powered bombers have been in service since the 1950s.
Ukraine’s allies have responded by heeding Kyiv’s call for more air-defense capabilities, with US officials saying Washington is poised to send Patriot air and missile defense batteries to Ukraine pending final approval from President Joe Biden.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and Poltava suffered blackouts in the ninth barrage since October. At least nine energy facilities, including power generators and substations that transmit electricity were hit, according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. He said that 50% of Ukrainians remained without power.
With temperatures hovering around freezing, there will be temporary disruptions to water and heating, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram.
It was the first large-scale barrage since Dec. 5, when Ukraine said it had downed more than 60 of the 70 missiles it said Russia had launched.
A top Ukrainian official also said Thursday that Moscow may only have enough firepower for three or four more missile barrages. Russia denies it has any difficulties in supplying its military, even as western intelligence services say that it has turned to Iran for drones and is seeking artillery shells from North Korea.
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(With assistance from Olesia Safronova.)
