Russian missile attacks target Ukrainian energy, risking blackout

Russia attacked the energy infrastructure in three regions of Ukraine on Saturday, destroying equipment and injuring at least one worker - Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Haluszchenko conveyed via the Telegram app. This attack is part of Vladimir Putin's plan to plunge Ukrainians into darkness and cold.

The air defence managed to shoot down 21 of 34 Russian missiles - reported the commander of the Ukrainian Air Forces, Mykola Oleschuk.

Over the Dnipropetrovsk region, in central Ukraine, 13 Russian missiles were shot down, with more downed over the Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Pavlohrad areas - reported on Telegram by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region administration, Serhiy Lysak. He added that two energy infrastructure facilities in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih were damaged due to the raid on his region.

Early Saturday morning around 2 AM GMT, Ukrainian Pravda reported that Tu-95MS bombers took off in Russia.

The planes conducted raids including on the Dnipropetrovsk region and on the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions in the western part of the country - said Haluszchenko. These attacks targeted the energy infrastructure, among other things.

DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, declared that four thermal power stations were hit.

The company's facilities were seriously damaged, and currently, employees are trying to repair the damage caused by the attack, DTEK reported. It was confirmed that there were casualties, but no details were provided.

Anti-aircraft alarms were announced overnight from Friday to Saturday in several Ukrainian regions, including Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, and Dnipropetrovsk - reported the portal Ukrainian Pravda, citing military sources.

The country's authorities reported that Ukraine had lost about 80 per cent of its thermal energy production capacity and about 35 per cent of its hydropower production so far.