Russia fires huge missile, drone salvo at Ukraine's power grid

Reuters:


Russia fires huge missile, drone salvo at Ukraine's power grid

By Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa

August 26, 2024, 11:22 PM GMT+10

Summary

• At least 5 killed in biggest Russian missile attack for weeks
• National power grid targeted in major Russian strike
• Outages of electricity and water supply reported
• Russia says 'high precision' weapons used in attack

KYIV, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Russia launched about 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine on Monday, killing five people and striking energy facilities nationwide, Kyiv said, while neighbouring NATO member Poland reported a drone had probably entered its airspace.

Power cuts and water supply outages were reported in many areas, including parts of Kyiv, as officials said the attack - 2-1/2 years into Russia's full-scale invasion - targeted power or other critical infrastructure in at least 10 regions.

Russia dramatically stepped up its strikes on the Ukrainian power grid in March in what Kyiv has said looked like a concerted effort to degrade the system ahead of next winter when people need electricity and heating most.

Monday's missile and drone salvo was Russia's most intense in weeks, coming as Ukraine is claiming new ground in a major cross-border incursion into Russia's southern Kursk region while Russian forces steadily inch forward in Ukraine's east, closing in on the transport hub of Pokrovsk.

"It was one of the biggest combined strikes. More than a hundred missiles of various types and about a hundred Shahed drones. And like most previous Russian strikes, this one is just as sneaky, targeting critical civilian infrastructure," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Poland said an "object" had entered its airspace, that it may have landed on Polish territory and that searches were underway.

"Most likely it was a drone and we assume so, because the trajectory of the flight and the speed indicate that it was definitely not a missile," Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Polish army's operational command, told Reuters.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, 15 Ukrainian regions sustained damage from the missile and drone barrage. Zelenskiy said the energy sector had suffered "a lot of damage".

Top Kyiv officials urged its Western allies and arms suppliers to allow long-range strikes into Russia. Zelenskiy also redoubled his call on allies such as Poland to join Ukraine in shooting down missiles and drones over Ukrainian airspace.

Ukraine had no powerful long-range weapons at the start of the invasion, but has since developed many models of long-range attack drone and used them to hit targets deep inside Russia, ranging from oil refineries to military airfields.

Over the weekend, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had developed a new "drone missile" that had been used to attack Russia and was more powerful and faster than other hardware in Kyiv's arsenal.

Russia's defence ministry said on Monday its forces used high precision weapons to strike important energy infrastructure in Ukraine which it said supported the military-industrial complex. It listed power substations, gas compressor stations and storage sites for aircraft weapons.

Smoke rises from the city's outskirts during a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Vladyslav Musiienko


DAMAGE CONFIRMED

The regions reporting strikes on power or critical infrastructure included Rivne and Volyn in the northwest, Khmelnytsk in the southwest, Zhytomyr in the north, Lviv in the west, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the southeast and Odesa in the south.

Neighbouring Moldova, whose grid is linked to that of Ukraine, reported small disruptions to its power network.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said a hydropower plant in the Kyiv region had been targeted too. A video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed a damaged dam and a fire after an apparent strike at a hydropower plant. A separate clip, also verified, showed a missile hitting a water reservoir.

The Kyiv region governor Ruslan Kravchenko said in televised comments there was no critical damage to the dam.

In the northeastern Sumy region, from where Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia on Aug. 6, authorities said a railway infrastructure facility had been struck, but did not say which one or give further details.

A 69-year-old man in the Dnipropetrovsk region and a man in the Zaporizhzhia region were among at least five people confirmed dead, local officials said. The others were in the regions of Kharkiv, Zhytomyr and Volyn.

In Lutsk, an apartment block was damaged, the mayor said after reporting explosions.

Blasts also shook central Kyiv and air defences could be heard engaging incoming targets on the outskirts of the capital.

The air force said Russia used 11 TU-95 strategic bombers during Monday's attack, as well as other weaponry.

Approximately 15 missiles and almost 20 drones targeting the capital of Kyiv were shot down, according to Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration.

Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians. Each says its attacks are aimed at destroying infrastructure critical to the other's war effort.