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Ukraine Forced to Shut Down Power Grid 01/15 06:22
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia on Wednesday launched a major ballistic and
cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production
and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas despite
freezing winter weather, officials said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that it launched a strike on "critically
important facilities of gas and energy infrastructure that ensure the
functioning of Ukraine's military industrial complex." It didn't give the
target locations or other details.
The barrage came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry vowed a response
to what it said was an attack on Russian soil using multiple Western-supplied
missiles.
Kyiv hasn't confirmed that attack, though it said Tuesday that it hit an oil
refinery and a fuel storage depot, a chemical plant producing ammunition and
two anti-aircraft missile systems, in a missile and drone attack that reached
around 1,100 kilometers (almost 700 miles) into Russia.
Long-range attacks have been a feature of the nearly three-year war, where
on the front line snaking about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from northeast to
southern Ukraine, the armies have been engaged in a war of attrition. Russia
has been advancing on the battlefield over the past year, though its progress
has been slow and costly.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 43 missiles and 74 drones overnight, the
Ukrainian Air Force said. A total of 30 missiles and 47 drones were shot down,
and 27 drones failed to reach their target, it said.
The Russian missiles sought out targets from the Lviv region in western
Ukraine near Poland to Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine bordering Russia. The state
energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in six regions. It
often shuts down production during attacks as a precaution.
"The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainians," Energy Minister Herman
Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.
Electricity supplies resumed to households in some areas by the middle of
the day, but Ukrenergo urged customers to avoid using power-hungry electrical
appliances.
Russia has repeatedly tried to cripple Ukraine's power grid, denying the
country heat, electricity and running water in an effort to break the Ukrainian
spirit. The attacks have also sought to disrupt Ukraine's defense manufacturing
industry.
Last September, the U.N. refugee agency reported that Ukraine had lost more
than an estimated 60% of its energy generation capacity.
Ukrainian authorities try to rebuild their power generation after the
attack, though the barrages have eroded production. Western partners have been
helping Ukraine rebuild.
"It is the middle of the winter, and Russia's goal remains unchanged: our
energy infrastructure," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
He urged Western partners to accelerate the delivery to Ukraine of promised
air defense weapons, emphasizing that "promises have been made but not yet
fully realized."
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