Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, with its latest strikes hitting critical energy infrastructure and wounding nearly two dozen people on Saturday.
“On the night of June 1, 2024, the Russian occupiers launched a powerful air missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities in several regions of Ukraine, using air, sea and land missiles, as well as ‘Shahed’ type missiles. UAVs”, the Ukrainian Air Force said Saturday in a message on Telegram, according to the translation.
Local officials said 19 people were injured in the attack. This is reported by the Associated Press. Private energy operator DTEK said two of its own power plants were “severely” damaged by an attack by Russia on Saturday.
Herman Halushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said energy infrastructure in the Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Ivano-Frankivsk regions were also targeted, according to AP.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the attacks in a statement on social media platform X on Saturday.
“Citizens, infrastructure and energy supplies. This is what Russia is constantly at war with,” Zelensky said wrote on X. “This night, a new barrage of more than 50 missiles of various types and about 50 ‘Shahed’ drones targeted southern, central and western Ukraine.”
“I am grateful to our warriors for shooting the majority of them, but there were also hits,” Zelensky continued. “All services are working on site to provide recovery and assistance. Everyone affected will receive all necessary assistance.”
Him too belittled what he described as “Russian terrorists” who understood only “the language of violence.”
“And the only way to stop this terror and prevent it from becoming the norm is to make effective decisions quickly,” he continued in the post. “Full protection of Ukrainian airspace must become the norm. So that the lunatics in the Kremlin understand that their terror is pointless.”
The Ukrainian leader also used the moment to urge allies to acquire additional weapons, including Patriot missiles, F-16s and other modern air defense systems.
Damage to Ukraine’s power grid has forced the war-ravaged country’s leaders to impose nationwide blackouts, the AP said.
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