MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine renewed attacks on energy infrastructure overnight, damaging plants and causing fires, officials from the two countries said.
The Ukrainian army said in its regular situational update on Saturday that Russia hit Ukraine with a “massive missile attack”. Energy Minister German Galushchenko also said in a Facebook post that the “enemy” had again attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “In particular, facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions were attacked. There is damage to equipment,” he said.
The DTEK power operator said equipment at four thermal power plants was “severely damaged” in the overnight strikes. State electricity operator Ukrenergo added it had disconnected its main overhead power line in the west of the country as a preventive measure.
“We ask all consumers to consume electricity sparingly. Industry is asked to maximise electricity imports and use alternative power sources,” Ukrenergo said. Ukraine also said 21 drones out of 34 were shot down in Russia’s latest barrage of attacks.
In recent months, Moscow has launched some of its most significant strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities, knocking out a substantial chunk of the production and triggering blackouts. –Agencies
