Russia targets Ukraine's energy sites in 'massive' barrage

Kyiv — Russia launched dozens of missiles and drones at the Ukrainian energy sector, Kyiv said Wednesday, ramping up a months-long bombing campaign at a precarious moment of the war for Ukraine.

The barrage came just one day after Kyiv said it had carried out its largest ever aerial attack on Russian army factories and energy hubs hundreds of kilometres from the front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow had fired more than 40 missiles and over 70 attack drones in an overnight barrage against sites including gas infrastructure.

"Another massive Russian attack. It is the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector," the Ukrainian leader said.

Ukrainian air defence systems shot down at least 30 of the Russian missiles, which included ballistic missiles, Zelensky said.

The statement came ahead of a meeting in Warsaw between Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Ukrainian authorities in the west of the country said Wednesday that critical infrastructure facilities had been targeted in a "massive" Russian missile attack after air alerts sounded nationwide.

"Critical infrastructure facilities were targeted in Prykarpattia," the regional governor of the western Ivano-Frankivsk region wrote on social media.

"Air defence forces were working in the region," the official, Svitlana Onyshchuk, said, adding there were no casualties and that the situation was "under control."

 Emergency blackouts 

Authorities in the western Lviv region, which borders EU and NATO member Poland, said two critical infrastructure facilities had been hit in the Drogobych and Stryi districts, without elaborating.

"Fortunately, there were no casualties, but there was damage," governor Maksym Kozytsky wrote on social media.

The Ukrainian national grid operator meanwhile announced it was introducing emergency blackouts in seven regions including the eastern Donetsk region.

"Due to the massive attack, the transmission system operator is applying preventive restrictions," Energy Minister German Galushchenko said of the shutdowns.

Separately, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region said that critical infrastructure had also been hit in his region over the last 24 hours, but did not specify when the strikes had occurred.

The mayor of the southern city of Kherson meanwhile said that "part of our community is without electricity" as a result of the overnight barrage, without giving figures of those without power.

Ukrainian authorities had earlier issued air raid alerts for the entire country, warning of incoming cruise missiles.

The warning said that missiles were headed towards the central city of Kryvyi Rig, the northern Chernigiv region, central Poltava region, and southern Mykolaiv region.

A "group of cruise missiles" was also headed in the direction of the capital Kyiv, the air force said.

Moscow has pursued a months-long bombing campaign against Ukrainian energy infrastructure claiming the attacks are targeted against facilities that aid Kyiv's military.

The Russian military had accused Kyiv of using US- and British-supplied missiles for one of the strikes the previous day and promised it would "not go unanswered".