Russia conducts massive strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure

Russian forces have unleashed a wave of powerful high-precision strikes on Ukrainian energy and oil facilities across the country, the Defense Ministry has said.

The attack was carried out in retaliation for recurring strikes on Russian territory, officials stated.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said the overnight large-scale attack had involved long-range air- and sea-based weapons, as well as drones. It came “in response to attempts by the Kiev regime to damage Russian oil and gas industry and energy facilities.”

“The goals of the strike have been achieved. All facilities have been hit,” the statement read.

Officials added that the attack had disrupted the work of Ukrainian defense-oriented enterprises, while hampering the transfer of troops and the supply of fuel to Kiev’s frontline units.

Ukrenergo, the national power grid operator, said the barrage had damaged energy facilities in Odessa, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Lviv, and Kiev regions. It added that Kharkov Region, which borders Russia, had been affected by an emergency shutdown.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Moscow had used more than 40 missiles and 40 drones in the strike, only some of which had been intercepted.

Kiev Region appeared to be particularly hard-hit, with local energy operator, Centerenergo, describing the barrage as “a dark day” in the company’s history. It stated that the attack had “completely destroyed” the Tripolskaya thermal power plant, which had been the largest energy producer in Kiev, Cherkasskaya and Zhitomir regions.

Footage shared by local media outlets appears to show a large blaze at the facility, with plumes of smoke rising into the air.

The Ukrainian military has repeatedly used drones to attack Russian oil bases in border regions, with The Guardian reporting earlier this month that the tactic had stemmed from the fact that Kiev knew that it could not defeat Russia on the battlefield.

Russia first started targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the autumn of 2022, after the terrorist bombing of the strategic Crimean Bridge in October of the same year. Moscow insists that its strikes never target Ukrainian civilians.