Russia has expanded its attacks from eastern and central Ukraine to energy facilities in the west of the country, areas that had not previously been targeted. The strikes caused power outages, according to officials from the Energy Ministry and local authorities.
In October, ahead of the start of winter, Russia resumed attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, targeting power plants and electricity transmission systems.
“Unfortunately, the enemy continues to deliberately and systematically attack our energy infrastructure,” Artem Nekrasov, Ukraine’s deputy energy minister, said in a televised appearance.
He said energy facilities were hit in the central province of Kirovohrad, the western provinces of Zhytomyr, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi, as well as the southern province of Odesa.
“As a result of the attacks, some consumers were left without electricity,” he added.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, announced that a Russian attack overnight hit three of its energy facilities in the southern region of Odesa. The company said 32,700 households were left without electricity.
On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched dozens of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as well as its oil and gas sectors, during the week following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a pause in attacks on energy infrastructure in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukraine had previously said it was ready for an “energy truce”. At the same time, it had asked its allies for missiles to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, which Moscow uses to strike the country’s energy infrastructure.
Source: CNA
