Waves of Missiles to Ukraine Fired by Russia
The Ukrainian army digs trenches in the Bakhmut district in eastern Ukraine, Friday, December 16, 2022. The city and surrounding areas are still under Russian attack. KIEV, UKRAINE — Russia fired dozens of rockets into Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Friday morning, knocking out heating systems in cities across the country and causing major damage to the state power company as temperatures plunged well below freezing. urged to impose a large-scale emergency power outage.
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Russia had launched 76 missiles at critical infrastructure targets across Ukraine. In a statement, he said air defenses shot down 60 missiles. This is the ninth batch of large-scale missiles targeting Ukrainian infrastructure this fall. The most typical are 70 to 100 missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s deputy chief of staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said emergency power cuts were being implemented “across the country” to distribute energy as crews repaired the damage.
Russia Fires Wave of Missiles Across Ukraine
.According to a published post by Newsbreak, “We ask for your understanding regarding the power outages and temporary disruptions to water and heating supplies,” he said in a statement. Ukrenergo, the national electricity company, said that after the strikes, more than 50% of the electricity demand could not be met.
It’s not clear how many missiles hit their targets as large explosions were reported in cities around the country, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa. Initial reports suggested at least two people were killed.
Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, said Russia had fired a variety of missiles across the country in an attempt to evade air defenses – using less precise ammunition and drones to do so. exhausting Ukraine’s air defenses so that Moscow’s more powerful precision missiles hit their targets.
Since October, Russia has attacked Ukraine’s electricity, thermal, water, and natural gas infrastructure with missile and drone attacks, which military analysts consider is a strategy to demoralize Ukrainians by plunging the country into darkness and cold as winter approaches.
