Ukraine has reported a significant assault on its energy facilities by Russia overnight, marking the eighth assault on its power grid in the past three months. Ukrainian officials disclosed that air defense systems successfully intercepted 12 out of 16 missiles and all 13 drones launched during the night across multiple regions.
Injuries were reported among energy workers in the Zaporizhzhia region, with infrastructure damage also noted in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk. Russia’s renewed campaign of strikes on Ukrainian energy targets this spring and early summer has resulted in frequent blackouts nationwide.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted that Russia’s attacks have severely crippled Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity since late March.
Saturday night’s assault, targeting energy infrastructure for the second time this week, followed an earlier attack that wounded seven employees and damaged a power station. Despite efforts to procure energy from the European Union, Ukraine faces ongoing deficits, necessitating planned blackouts to safeguard critical facilities like hospitals and military bases.
Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, a major Ukrainian energy company, urgently appealed for international assistance to defend and rebuild Ukraine’s energy system. Zelensky has persistently urged allies to supply more air defense systems, specifically requesting seven Patriot air defense systems from the United States.
Zaporizhzhia’s governor, Ivan Fedorov, echoed these pleas, stressing Ukraine’s urgent need for air defense systems to counter ongoing threats. The US National Security Council indicated prioritizing Ukraine for Patriot deliveries ahead of other countries with pending orders.
