Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmygal raised concerns on Friday, stating that Russia has initiated a systematic campaign of aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, marking the beginning of what he called “energy terror” for the upcoming heating season.
In comments reported by Interfax-Ukraine, Shmygal emphasised that Ukraine’s air defence systems are now better equipped to withstand such attacks than the previous year.
At least 18 casualties, including a nine-year-old girl, as a result of the air strikes, while a regional governor disclosed that two individuals were killed in separate overnight Russian shelling incidents, news agency AFP reported citing officials.
“Winter is coming. Tonight (Russia) renews missile attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure,” lawmaker Andrii Osadchuk said on platform X, as reported by Reuters.
Ukrenergo, the grid operator, noted that this marked the first Russian attack on power infrastructure in six months, with damages reported in western and central regions. The attacks resulted in power outages affecting regions including Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv.
Russia’s Defence Ministry issued a statement claiming that the attack targeted military industry facilities, radio intelligence installations, and training centres for sabotage groups, and that all targets were successfully hit.