By Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk
kyiv (Reuters) – Explosions occurred in Ukraine’s capital kyiv and other cities early on Sunday as Russia carried out its biggest missile attack since August and targeted power facilities as winter approached, they said. officials.
Ukrainians have been preparing for a major attack on the affected power system for weeks, fearing devastating damage to the grid that would cause prolonged blackouts and build psychological pressure at a critical moment in the war that Russia launched in February 2022.
“Another massive attack on the power system is underway. The enemy is attacking electricity generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko (NASDAQ:) wrote on Facebook.
Air defenses could be heard attacking drones over the capital overnight, and a series of powerful explosions echoed throughout the city center as the missile attack was underway in the morning.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Authorities cut power to numerous city districts, including kyiv, the surrounding region and the Dnipropetrovsk region, in what they said was a precaution to prevent a surge in case of damage.
Authorities in the Volyn region in northwestern Ukraine said energy infrastructure had been damaged, but gave no further details. Officials often withhold information about the state of the electrical system due to the war.
In Mykolaiv in the south, two people were killed in the overnight drone strike, the regional governor said. The explosions rocked the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia and the Black Sea port of Odessa, Reuters witnesses said. More explosions were reported in the regions of Kryvyi Rih in the south and Rivne in the west.
“Russia launched one of the largest airstrikes – drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians and critical infrastructure,” said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
He described the attack as Moscow’s “real response” to leaders who had interacted with President Vladimir Putin, an apparent swipe at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who made a phone call to the Russian leader on Friday for the first time since late 2022.
NATO member Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west, said it had deployed its air force within its airspace as a security measure due to the Russian attack, which it said used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones.
Poland “activated all forces and resources available at its disposal, the pairs of fighters in service were mobilized and the ground air defense and radar reconnaissance systems reached the maximum state of readiness,” the operational command of its armed forces published on day
Ukraine’s air force urged residents to take cover, providing regular updates on the progress of Russian cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles that it said were passing through Ukrainian airspace.
In kyiv, the roof of a residential building caught fire due to falling debris and at least two people were injured, city officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Emergency services were sent to the scene,” said kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Russia last carried out a major missile strike in kyiv on August 26, when authorities said it fired a salvo of more than 200 drones and missiles across the country in an attack that killed seven people.