The Ukrainian Air Force announced a nationwide air raid alert, warning that Russia had launched seven Tu-95 strategic bombers, The Kyiv Independent reported, adding that explosions had been heard in a number of cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Lutsk and Rivne.
German Galushchenko, the energy minister , wrote on Facebook on Thursday morning that energy facilities had been targeted and that damage assessment would be carried out when the security situation allowed.
"The energy sector is once again under massive attack by the enemy,” the post was translated by the Ukrainform news agency as saying. “Strikes on energy facilities are happening across Ukraine. Transmission system operator Ukrenergo has urgently implemented emergency power outages."
The Kyiv Independent said Russia had started intensifying attacks on the country’s energy grid ahead of the war’s third winter.
"They stockpiled missiles for strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, for warfare against civilians during the cold, during the winter," the paper quoted Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, as saying.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russian forces had launched more than 800 KAB-guided aerial bombs, nearly 460 attack drones and more than 20 missiles over the previous week.
