Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that recent air strikes on Ukraine's energy grid, which have caused huge blackouts, are part of the Kremlin's "demilitarisation" of its neighbour.
"We assume that in this way we have an influence on the Ukrainian military-industrial complex," said Putin, adding that the strikes were also in response to Kyiv targeting Russia's energy infrastructure.
Kyiv, for its part, had reported a “massive” attack on the country’s major facilities, but said that so far nobody had been reported killed.
“Overnight, Russia fired more than 40 missiles and 40 drones at Ukraine,” Zelensky said on X.
“Some missiles and ‘Shahed’ drones were successfully shot down. Unfortunately, only a part of them,” he added.
“There was another vile missile attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region,” he said. The northeastern city has been pounded by Russian attacks—some deadly—in recent weeks.
Zelensky said infrastructure facilities were also targeted in Kyiv, the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Odesa in the south, and the western city of Lviv, near the Polish border.
“Russian terrorists once again targeted critical infrastructure,” he said.
Moscow has heavily attacked Ukraine’s energy facilities over recent months, launching some of its biggest aerial strikes of the two-year war.
Zelensky called on Ukraine’s Western partners not to “turn a blind eye” and to provide more air defence systems.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said hundreds of rescuers had been deployed at sites across the country after “massive shelling”.
“For several hours, the Russian military attacked five regions of Ukraine, hitting critical infrastructure,” he said.
He said Moscow fired “more than 10 missiles” at Kharkiv, leaving parts of the city without electricity.
“Fortunately, according to operational data, today’s attack resulted in no deaths or injuries,” he said.
The mayor of Kharkiv warned that “problems with energy supply are possible” in the city, Ukraine’s second-largest.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported “explosions” early Thursday.
The head of the Lviv region, Maksym Kozytsky, said Russia attacked a gas distribution facility and an electric substation with “cruise missiles of various classes and drones”.
“Fires started. They were quickly extinguished by firefighters,” he said on social media.
Russia, meanwhile, said it had destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones overnight, including three as far east as the Mordovia republic.
Others were destroyed over the Kursk, Tambov, Belgorod, Bryansk and Lipetsk regions, it said. Ukraine has been attacking Russia with drones for months.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
