Russia launches ‘major’ attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure | Russia-Ukraine war News

Explosions were heard across Ukraine, including Kyiv and Odesa, as Russia’s rapid advance since the early days of the nearly three-year war.

Russia launched a major strike on energy facilities and military infrastructure of Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported, citing the Ministry of Defense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russian forces had fired about 120 missiles and 90 drones in a “massive” coordinated air strike – one of the biggest incidents of the nearly three-year war.

In a message on his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian military fired more than 140 Russian projectiles.

A Russian airstrike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv killed at least two people and injured six others, including children, Zelenskyy said, adding that “all areas” were left without power.

Explosions were heard across Ukraine on Sunday, including the capital, Kyiv, the southern port of Odesa, and the country’s western and central regions, according to local reports.

The Ukrainian electricity company DTEK on Sunday announced an emergency power cut in the Kyiv region and two in the east.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Telegram that “a major attack on our energy system continues” and that Russian forces are “attacking power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine”.

Russia’s attack has boosted Ukraine’s power generation capacity since Moscow attacked its neighbor in February 2022, causing repeated emergency blackouts and blackouts across the country.

Ukrainian officials often urge their Western allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses to counter attacks and allow for repairs.

The large-scale Russian offensive came as Russian forces advanced at a rapid pace since the early days of the war. Adding to the pressure, North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia’s Kursk region to help Moscow fight off an invasion of Ukraine that began in August.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy said his side would do everything possible to end the war by 2025 through “talkative means”.

His comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first direct talks in nearly two years with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, saying a deal to end the war would also need to address the “root causes” of the conflict, according to Putin, including. NATO expansion.

Support for war-torn Ukraine is also being questioned following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election.

In the run-up to the vote, Trump has repeatedly questioned the amount of US money spent on military aid to Ukraine. Vice President-elect JD Vance suggested that the Trump administration should allow Russia to keep the Ukrainian land it seized from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden has promised to strengthen its support for Kyiv for the rest of his term in office, and the leaders of the G7 alliance have confirmed their support for Ukraine “as long as it takes”.