Russia hits Ukrainian energy sites in 'massive' overnight attack

KIEV

Russia launched a "massive" missile strike at Ukraine overnight, hitting energy facilities and damaging power plants in several regions, officials in Kiev said on Saturday.

Moscow has escalated its strikes against Ukraine's power network in recent months, causing blackouts and triggering Ukraine to ask consumers to ration their energy supplies.

"Russian armed forces staged another massive missile attack on Ukraine," the army said in its regular morning update.

"The enemy has once again attacked the country's energy infrastructure. In particular, facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions were attacked. There is damage to equipment," Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in a Facebook post.

The DTEK power operator said equipment at four of its thermal power plants were "severely damaged" in the overnight strikes.

The air force said Moscow fired 34 missiles, of which 21 were shot down.

Two people were injured in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, president of the city's defence council said on Telegram.

The head of the western Lviv region called on residents not to use energy-intensive appliances — including kettles, irons, washing machines and microwaves — between 7:00pm and 10:00pm to preserve limited energy supplies.

"It is difficult for the energy system to maintain the balance of production and consumption," Maksym Kozytski said in a post on Telegram.

Moscow also said that Ukraine launched one of its largest ever attempted overnight drone attacks on the southern Krasnodar region and the annexed Crimean peninsula.

The defence ministry on Saturday said that its air defences "destroyed 66 Ukrainian drones over the territory of the Krasnodar region, and two more drones were destroyed over the Crimean peninsula."