Russia fired numerous missiles targeting Ukraine’s power infrastructure in overnight strikes, escalating the ongoing conflict. Concurrently, Russia claims to have intercepted over 60 drones from Ukraine in the southern region of Krasnodar.
Ukraine’s air force reported that 34 missiles were launched towards them by Russia during the night, with 21 being successfully neutralised by Ukraine’s air defences. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko informed on Telegram that power facilities in the southern city of Dnipropetrovsk as well as western cities Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv were assaulted, resulting in an engineer getting injured.
DTEK, a private energy organisation claimed that four of their thermal power stations were affected, with personnel loss, although detailed particulars were omitted. Earlier this month, Russia had damaged Ukraine’s major power plants with missile and drone attacks, reigniting plans to obstruct Ukraine’s energy supplies.
Consequently, Ukraine has sought additional air defence systems from its Western allies to counteract these offensives. During a Ukraine Defence Contact Group conference on Friday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin substantiated that the US will supply Ukraine with extra ammunition and equipment for their air defence artillery.
Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, was also affected by a missile strike from Russia, causing damage to a psychiatric hospital and wounding one individual. Images captured at the location reveal a massive pit on the hospital’s premises, with patients seeking refuge in hallways. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that a woman aged 53 was harmed in the incident.
Russian authorities declared that their air defence systems intercepted 66 drones over the southern Krasnodar region, including two over the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia. The local Ministry for Defence announced that the Ukrainian forces aimed at oil refineries and infrastructures but claimed that there were no significant harms or loss of life. The Ministry’s emergency department stated that a blaze occurred at Slavyansk oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban during the assault.
Normally, Ukrainian officials abstain from discussing attacks in Russia, nonetheless, Ukraine’s Ministry for Energy declared that two oil refineries in the Krasnodar area were damaged by drone strikes.