According to senior Ukrainian officials, Russia launched a “massive attack” on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure early Friday, October 10. Parts of Kyiv, the capital, and numerous other areas were left without electricity as a result of the countrywide strikes.
Referred to as a “cynical and calculated attack,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had fired “more than 450 drones and over 30 missiles” targeting energy and civilian targets. He emphasized that Russia is using these attacks as a means of denying Ukrainians heat and electricity as the harsh winter months draw near, namely “to leave us in darkness, without water and heat.”
According to Ukrainian officials, since late September, there have been nearly daily attacks on energy installations, particularly those involved in the production and distribution of gas. Across the nation, the most recent offensive resulted in severe damage and fatalities. A strike on the southeast city of Zaporizhzhia killed a 7-year-old kid and injured many, including at least 12 in Kyiv.
Numerous areas had widespread power outages as a result of the attack. Governor Mykola Kalashnik said over 28,000 homes in the Brovary and Boryspil districts of the Kyiv region lost electricity, while the left bank of the capital also had problems with water and electrical supplies.
More than 16,500 homes and 800 businesses in the Poltava district to the east were without electricity. Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv were among the other impacted regions.
DTEK Group, the biggest private energy producer in the nation, said that its stations were singled out in the strike, which is the third in a week. The attack seriously damaged equipment and injured an energy worker.
Emergency services shared footage of firefighters fighting a huge fire in Kyiv and assisting locals in getting to safety in order to capture the destruction. The public was reassured by Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk that personnel are doing everything they can to lessen the attack’s detrimental effects.
