Russia launches ‘massive’ attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

Explosions heard across Ukraine, including Kyiv and Odesa, as Russia advances at its fastest rate since the early days of the nearly three-year war.

Russia has launched a huge strike on Ukraine’s energy facilities and military infrastructure, Russian news agencies report, citing the Ministry of Defence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Russian forces launched about 120 missiles and 90 drones in a “massive” combined air attack – one of the largest barrages of the near-three-year war.

In a message on his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy added that Ukrainian defence forces shot down more than 140 Russian projectiles.

A Russian drone attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv killed at least two people and wounded six others, including children, Zelenskyy said, adding that “all areas” were left without power.

Explosions were heard across Ukraine on Sunday, including the capital, Kyiv, the key southern port of Odesa, and the country’s west and central regions, according to local reports.

Ukraine’s energy operator DTEK on Sunday announced emergency power cuts in the Kyiv region and two in the east.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Telegram that “a massive attack on our energy system is ongoing” and that Russian forces were “attacking electricity generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine”.

Russian attacks have hammered Ukraine’s power generation capacity since Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, prompting repeated emergency power shutdowns and nationwide rolling blackouts.

Ukrainian officials have routinely urged their Western allies to bolster the country’s air defences to counter assaults and allow for repairs.

The large-scale Russian assault came as Russian forces advanced at the fastest rate since the war’s earliest days. To add to the pressure, North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to the Russian region of Kursk to help Moscow fight off a Ukrainian incursion that started in August.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy said his side will do everything possible so that the war ends in 2025 “through diplomatic means”.

His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first direct conversation in almost two years with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, saying an agreement to end the war would also need to address the “root causes” of the conflict which, according to Putin, include NATO’s expansion.

Support for war-torn Ukraine is also in question following the victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential election.

In the run-up to the vote, Trump had repeatedly questioned the amount of US money spent on military aid for Ukraine. Vice President-elect JD Vance has suggested that a Trump administration could favour letting Russia keep the Ukrainian land it has seized on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden has pledged to strengthen its support for Kyiv in its remaining time in power, and the leaders of the G7 alliance have reaffirmed support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies