Ukraine says Russia's "tactics of terror" apparent in huge missile attack on energy sector as winter arrives
Kyiv — Russia launched a massive attack Thursday on Ukraine's energy sector, forcing emergency power outages as temperatures dropped to freezing across the country. Ukraine's energy grid has been heavily targeted since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of "terror" tactics by trying to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness and cut off heating to civilians throughout the winter.
The overnight strikes come after two weeks of dramatic escalation that has seen both sides launch new weapons to gain an upper hand ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January.
Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said power infrastructure was "under massive enemy attack" after a countrywide air alert was issued for incoming missiles. The latest strikes left more than one million homes without power across Ukraine.
The air force reported a string of Russian cruise missiles and attack drones heading for cities across the country, including the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv in the northeast and the Black Sea port city of Odesa. Video confirmed by CBS News showed a Russian missile exploding over the city of Rivne in western Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched almost 200 missiles and drones aimed at forcing the U.S. to accept Russia's terms to ending the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that nearly 20 targets, including military and defense sites, were hit.
And speaking at a security summit in neighboring Kazakhstan, Putin warned that Kyiv's "decision making centers" could be targeted next by Russia's new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles, capable of carrying multiple warheads, which Moscow unleashed last week, striking Ukraine's eastern city of Dnipro.
Ukraine's "energy sector is under massive enemy attack"
"Once again, the energy sector is under massive enemy attack. Attacks on energy facilities are taking place across Ukraine," Galushchenko said.
National power grid operator Ukrenergo "urgently introduced emergency power cuts," he added, as temperatures dropped to around 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Energy provider DTEK said Ukrenergo was introducing emergency power outages in the regions of Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk.
Officials warned residents in many cities to remain in shelters, with the air alert still in place.
"As soon as the security situation will allow it, the consequences (of the strikes) will be specified," Galushchenko said.
Zelenskyy's chief of staff said the wave of attacks showed Russia was "continuing their tactics of terror."
"They stockpiled missiles for attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, for warfare against civilians during... winter," Andriy Yermak said in a post on Telegram, pledging that Ukraine would respond.
A senior United Nations official, Rosemary DiCarlo, this month warned Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure could make this winter the "harshest since the start of the war."
Russia-Ukraine war escalates with new weapons
Russia earlier this week said it was preparing its own retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on its territory using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.
Ukraine has launched at least three attacks on Russian territory with the long-range missiles since the White House gave it permission to fire them deeper into Russia.
Moscow responded to the first strike by firing a never-before-seen ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. In an angry address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the nuclear-capable, intermediate-range, multiple-warhead missile could be used against Western countries if they let their arms be used by Ukraine to hit Russia.
Russia's defense ministry said Thursday it had downed 25 Ukrainian drones fired overnight, including 14 over the southern Krasnodar territory — just to the east of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Krasnodar's governor said a woman was wounded by falling debris in the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban, around 60 miles east of the Kerch bridge — the giant infrastructure project linking Crimea to Russia that Kyiv has heavily targeted throughout the war.
Trump taps retired general to lead on Ukraine, Russia policy
The latest missile salvo came a day after Trump named staunch loyalist and retired general Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, charged with ending the Russian invasion.
Trump campaigned on a platform of securing a swift end to the Ukraine war, boasting that he would quickly mediate a ceasefire deal — comments that have triggered concern in Kyiv that the U.S. will push it to cede land occupied by Russian forces.
Kellog, an 80-year-old national security veteran, co-authored a paper this year calling for Washington to leverage military aid as a means of pushing for peace talks.
The outgoing Biden administration has urged Ukraine to drop the minimum age of conscription to 18 to plug severe manpower shortages across the 600-mile front line.
Russian troops have been advancing in the east for months, where they have a manpower and ammunition advantage over Ukraine's stretched forces.