“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said

kyiv, Ukraine – Russia launched its largest airstrike against Ukraine in nearly three months on Sunday (Nov. 17), launching 120 missiles and 90 drones that killed at least seven people and caused serious damage to the power system, reports said. those responsible.

Ukrainians had been preparing for weeks for a new Russian attack on an already hobbled energy system, fearing long winter outages and growing psychological pressure nearly 1,000 days after Russia launched its energy system. a large-scale invasion.

The strikes, which caused numerous power outages, took place at a time when the impending US presidency of the Donald Trump, who pledged to end the war without saying how, raised the prospect of a push for negotiations.

Air defenses could be heard engaging drones over the capital kyiv overnight, and a series of powerful explosions rang out across the city center during the missile attack. Residents huddled in underground subway stations, wrapped in winter coats.

“Serious damage to the Ukrainian energy system, including DTEK power plants. These attacks once again highlight Ukraine’s need for additional air defense systems from our allies,” said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power company.

The extent of the damage was difficult to assess. After repeated Russian attacks on the power grid, authorities are revealing little detailed information about the outcome of the strikes and the state of the grid.

Authorities confirmed damage to “critical infrastructure” or power outages in regions from Volyn, Rivne, Lviv in the west to Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia in the southeast.

DTEK imposed emergency power cuts in the southern Odessa region, but lifted them in three other regions by late morning. Emergency work is underway in the Odessa, Rivne and Volyn regions, national grid operator Ukrenergo said.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had launched a massive strike against energy facilities that supply Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Ukraine worries about Western diplomacy

kyiv’s air force said it destroyed 104 of 120 missiles and shot down 42 drones. 41 others disappeared from radar, according to the press release.

At least seven people were killed in the Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, authorities said.

Poland, a NATO member and bordering Ukraine to the west, said it had deployed its air forces as a precaution.

Russia last launched a major barrage on kyiv on Aug. 26, when officials said it fired more than 200 drones and missiles at targets across Ukraine.

Its latest attack puts increased pressure on Ukraine as Moscow’s troops make their fastest battlefield gains in the east since 2022 in their effort to seize the entire industrial region of the Donbass.

At the same time, Ukrainian troops are trying to hold on to an area of ​​land they captured in Russia’s Kursk region in August, which kyiv fears could one day be used as a bargaining chip.

Sybiha said the strike appeared to be Moscow’s “real response” to leaders contacting President Vladimir Putin, an apparent blow to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who called the Russian leader on Friday for the first time in two years.

Although Scholz urged Putin to withdraw his troops, which occupy a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, kyiv resisted a call it said reduced Putin’s isolation.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed Sybiha: “Last night’s attack, one of the largest in this war, proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the entire West.” to Ukraine. The next few weeks will be decisive, not only for the war itself, but also for our future.” – Rappler.com