According to officials on Wednesday, Russia destroyed energy infrastructure in the country’s center and close to the border with western Ukraine during the course of the night by launching almost two dozen attack drones into the area.
Following devastating Russian assaults on Ukrainian power plants, officials imposed rolling blackouts throughout the day to limit pressure on the grid. This was followed by the latest bombardment of energy infrastructure.
“At night, the enemy attacked an energy facility in a central region. Some equipment was damaged,” the energy ministry said, adding that police and emergency services had been called to the scene.
This month, President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Ukraine’s ability to generate energy had been reduced by half in just a year due to Russian drone and missile attacks.
He has urged partners to provide Ukraine with additional air defense systems so that it can thwart coordinated attacks on vital infrastructure.
Although the Russian military has claimed it launches retaliatory attacks on energy facilities, the Kremlin maintains that its forces do not target civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The energy ministry reported that “overhead lines and electrical equipment were damaged” in the barrage in the western part of Lviv, which has avoided the worst of the fighting so far in the war, which is now in its third year.
The governor of the western region that borders EU and NATO member Poland said the attacks overnight wounded two civilians, a 47-year-old and a 70- year-old.
Out of the total 21 Russian attack drones, the air force reported that air defense systems had shot down 19 drones with Iranian designs during the course of the night.
Energy officials issued a warning this week, stating that there will probably be more planned and emergency disruptions in the upcoming weeks. According to officials, fixing the damaged plants will likely cost millions of dollars and take years.
