We carried out a comprehensive attack. It was done in response to the continued attacks on our country with Atacms missiles, says Vladimir Putin in televised comments during a visit to Kazakhstan.
Atacms is an advanced weapon with a relatively long range that Ukraine receives from the USA. Previously, the deliveries were made with the condition that the missiles would only be used for pure defense, but recently the USA eased the requirements. In Russia, it was perceived as an escalation of the conflict.
The massive attacks on the power grid spark anger in Kyiv.
A "despicable escalation of Russia's terrorist tactics", writes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on Telegram. He adds that cluster munitions have been observed in several regions and have struck civilian infrastructure.
Missiles and Explosions
Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halusjtjenko had stated that "the energy sector is under a gigantic attack".
Maksym Kozytskyj, head of the regional defense in Lviv in the west, wrote on Telegram in the morning that 523,000 subscribers were without power in his area. He added that 280,000 lacked electricity in the neighboring region of Rivne and 215,000 in another, Volyn.
This means that over a million households were without power in just the three regions. Even the city of Cherson and large parts of the capital Kyiv were without power during the day, reports The New York Times. In the city of Zjytomyr, residents lacked both electricity and water.
70 Missiles
On Thursday morning, Ukraine's air force announced that 79 Russian missiles and 35 drones had been shot down during the night. This out of a total of 188 "projectiles" fired at mainly energy infrastructure and triggering nationwide warnings. 62 drones were said to have "disappeared" from radar.
Explosions were heard in Kropyvnytskyj in central Ukraine and in Lutsk in the northwest, reports public service company Suspilne.
Several explosions were also reported from the metropolis of Kharkiv in the northeast, where the city's mayor urged residents to seek shelter.
An emergency shutdown of the power grid was carried out in several regions, says state-owned Ukrenergo, which is responsible for the country's main grid.
Shot Down
In parallel, Russia claims to have shot down 25 Ukrainian drones.
14 of them, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, were brought down over the Krasnodar area, east of Crimea, which Russia annexed in violation of international law.
