Ukraine suffers widespread power outage after Russian airstrikes

(CLO) Ukraine is facing widespread power outages after Russia launched large-scale air strikes overnight.

Ukraine border crossings temporarily closed

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that nine regions of Ukraine had been attacked. In the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, video captured the moment a drone crashed into a building in the dark, causing a huge explosion.

According to the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a total of 10 people were killed and nearly 50 injured in the past 24 hours due to Russian airstrikes.

Due to the power outage, Ukraine's border crossings were also temporarily closed, as the customs data system was unable to function, according to the Ukrainian Customs Service.

A building hit by a massive Russian airstrike. Photo: Ukraine Emergency Services

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 45 missiles, some of them ballistic, but only nine were intercepted. About 450 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were also launched.

“26 missiles and 52 drones attacked 25 locations,” the agency said, with large explosions occurring in the Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions and the capital Kyiv.

Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk asserted that Russia “is once again launching massive attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.”

She added that emergency power cuts have been imposed in many areas and will be lifted once the power system stabilizes.

State gas company Naftogaz said Friday night's attack was the ninth time gas infrastructure had been hit since early October.

The attacks have severely damaged Ukraine's gas production, forcing the country's authorities to increase expensive gas imports from Europe to make up for the shortfall.

Ukraine is negotiating to increase gas imports by about 30% in the context of the upcoming winter, according to Ms. Grynchuk.

Russia's counterattack

The Russian Defense Ministry said the airstrikes were a response to Ukrainian attacks, saying Russian forces used Kinzhal ballistic missiles and other weapons against Ukrainian “enterprises of the defense industry complex and energy facilities.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for Ukraine, Rodion Miroshnik, also claimed that Russia only attacked Ukraine's military industrial plants, not its people.

In recent months, the Ukrainian military has stepped up attacks on oil refineries, pipelines and pumping stations inside Russian territory with drones and missiles.

On Saturday, Ukrainian drones attacked a power substation in the Volgograd region, according to regional governor Andrey Bocharov.

He said power was restored hours after the attack, but called it a “massive attack” on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Source: https://congluan.vn/ukraine-mat-dien-dien-rong-sau-loat-khong-kich-dap-tra-cua-nga-10317126.html