Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine overnight Monday, cutting power to much of the western Ternopil region and damaging residential buildings in the Kyiv region, people said on Tuesday. the Ukrainian authorities.
The intensification of nighttime drone strikes against Ukrainian cities comes at a time when Russia is making major advances on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, with Russian forces making some of their largest monthly territorial gains. important since 2022.
Of the 188 drones used that night, Ukraine shot down 76 and lost track of 96, likely due to active electronic warfare, the Air Force said.
Five drones headed towards Belarus.
“The enemy launched a record number of Shahed attack drones and unidentified drones…,” the Air Force said. Russia uses cheap “suicide” drones and “decoy” drones, which hamper Ukrainian air defenses.
“Unfortunately, critical infrastructure was affected and private and residential buildings were damaged in several areas due to the massive drone attack,” an air force statement said, adding that no casualties had not been reported.
The attack damaged the power grid in Ternopil, a large city in western Ukraine, and cut power to about 70% of the region, Governor Vyacheslav Nehoda said on national television.
Ternopil, located some 220 km east of NATO member Poland, and the surrounding region had more than a million inhabitants before the Russian invasion of February 2022, which expelled many Ukrainians towards the west.
“The consequences are serious, because the facility was significantly affected and this will impact the electricity supply of the entire region for a long time,” Vyacheslav Nehoda said.
The attack also cut off water and disrupted heating supplies, regional defense headquarters chief Serhi Nadal said via Telegram.
Vyacheslav Nehoda said emergency services had largely restored water supplies by the morning and local authorities were planning to implement planned power cuts following the attack.
The electric buses serving the city will be replaced by ordinary buses and generators will make up for power outages in schools, hospitals and government institutions, he added.
Russia also targeted the city of Kyiv overnight, the Ukrainian capital's military administration said on Telegram, adding that air defense units destroyed more than 10 Russian drones.
Falling debris damaged four private residences, two high-rise buildings, two garages and a car in the region surrounding the capital, its governor Ruslan Kravchenko said.
There was no damage or injuries in the city, Serhi Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram.
(Reporting Valentyn Ogirenko, written by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Augustin Turpin)
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