New Russian attacks on infrastructure in Ukraine have caused widespread power cuts in the west of the country, hundreds of kilometers from the front line, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday.
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During the night from Monday to Tuesday, a Russian drone struck an “electrical infrastructure site” in Ternopil, a city with more than 220,000 inhabitants, its mayor, Serguiï Nadal, said on Telegram.
“Part of the city is without electricity,” he added, calling on residents to stock up on water and charge their phones.
This city was hit on Monday by another drone attack, which killed a civilian and injured at least three, and experienced major power cuts in November that left thousands of people without power.
Another night attack by Moscow targeted the neighboring region of Rivne during the night from Monday to Tuesday, the regional administration said on Telegram.
“Energy infrastructure was targeted,” said regional governor Oleksandr Koval. The strike did not cause any injuries, he added, without giving details of the damage.
Western Ukraine has been relatively unscathed since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, but Moscow has recently intensified its strikes on the country’s entire energy infrastructure, in a bid to disrupt the supply of electricity during the winter and undermine the morale of Ukrainians.
According to experts, Russia is trying in particular to destroy power transmission lines from power plants located in the west of the country to the East.
The Ukrainian Air Force, for its part, indicated that Moscow had attacked Ukraine with 28 drones overnight, 22 of which were shot down.
