Russia Hammers Ukraine's Energy Grid With More Than 120 Drones and 39 Ballistic Missiles, Leaving 600,000 Without Power
A massive Russian attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure left more than 600,000 people without power early on Wednesday, October 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to CNN. Zelensky said Russia launched more than 120 drones and 39 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and Kharkiv, specifically targeting energy facilities, causing widespread power outages and "significant damage" to oil and gas facilities. These are "the very infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American President," he wrote, referring to the"energy ceasefire" that President Donald Trump announced last weekend.
Just hours earlier, Zelensky had said his government received "no early warning from our partners" before a deadly ballistic missile attack on Tuesday hit a major power plant in Kyiv and damaged a residential building. Ukraine's air defenses "detected these missiles only when they were already virtually on approach to Kyiv," he said. "This is absolutely unjust: when they(Russia) are destroying our energy infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches."
Reuters reported that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes killed one person and injured one more in the capital, while in the Volga River town of Balakovo in Russia, a regional governor said drones killed one person and damaged houses. Russia's defence ministry, via Interfax, said it had downed 902 drones overnight.
Trump announced the energy ceasefire on Sunday, which appeared to take both warring countries by surprise. Zelensky said he supported it, but by Monday said Russia had already violated it with fresh strikes, while adding he was willing to abide by it if Moscow did too. Asked on Tuesday whether the US had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, Trump said:"We are helping them, and we are sharing intel. We want the war to end, so we're working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end." CNN noted that Russia and Ukraine have ramped up attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in recent months as front lines stay largely unmoved, and that Zelensky has for months urged partners to bolster Ukraine's air defenses, especially with more ballistic-missile interceptors.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 乌克兰国家紧急情况局消防员在遇袭能源设施一带行动（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，State Emergency Service of Ukraine 摄，CC BY 4.0 授权
