Ukraine says it is targeted by ‘one of the biggest’ air attacks launched by Russia, power cuts in three regions

Ukraine suffers “one of the greatest” air attacks launched by Russia, denounced this Sunday, November 17, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Andriï Sybiga, the country being targeted by strikes against its energy infrastructure. Strikes left at least two dead and around ten injured across the country.

“Russia launched one of its biggest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure”denounced Andriï Sybiga.

Energy Minister German Galushchenko had indicated earlier on Telegram that a “Massive attack on the electricity system is underway”and that the Russian forces “attack electricity generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine”.

Ukrainian energy operator DTEK said some of its thermal power plants had been “seriously damaged”without causing any casualties.

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Local authorities and Ukrainian media reported numerous explosions across the country, notably in the south in Zaporizhia, Odessa and Mykolaiv, as well as in Cherniguiv (north). According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched. Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense managed to destroy 140 of these targets, according to him.

A difficult winter to fear

These strikes occur at a time when Ukraine, in difficulty on the front, fears losing precious American support with the imminent arrival of Donald Trump at the White House. Ukraine, which has been fighting the Russian invasion for almost three years, regularly faces major power cuts, raising fears of a harsh winter.

Sunday, “emergency power cuts” were announced in kyiv and its region, as well as in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, both in the east, according to the operator DTEK. Power was also cut in parts of Odessa, a large southern port city, according to its mayor.

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Of the “essential infrastructure” or “energetic” were affected by attacks in the regions of Vinnytsia (central-west), Rivné, Volynié (west) and Zaporizhia (south), indicated the various local authorities.

However, the extent of the damage is difficult to estimate at this time. DTEK said this was the eighth major attack on its plants this year.

kyiv is urging its Western partners to help rebuild its electricity grid, a project that requires significant investment, and to provide it with more air defense equipment to counter Russian bombing.

Putin’s “response”

A drone strike killed two people and injured six others, including two children, in the southern city of Mykolaiv, according to the emergency services. The mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitchko, reported one person injured when a drone fragment fell on an apartment building.

Two other people were injured in Zaporizhia (south), according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov. One person was also injured in Dnipro, a large eastern city, said regional governor Serguiï Lyssak.

Minister Andriï Sybiga estimated that these attacks constituted the “true answer” from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the leaders who “called or visited him” lately.

kyiv was annoyed on Friday by a telephone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin, the first since December 2022. Talk to Vladimir Putin “opens Pandora’s box”had castigated Volodymyr Zelensky. Before that, the Russian president had gathered world leaders around him in Russia, including United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, for the Brics summit.

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The recent victory of Donald Trump in the American presidential election has reignited the debate on possible negotiations between Moscow and kyiv. On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky, who had long rejected this option, said he wanted to achieve an end to the war in his country in 2025 by “diplomatic means”. The Russian and Ukrainian positions nevertheless remain opposed: kyiv excludes the cession of territories occupied by the Russian army, while Moscow sets it as a condition.

The Polish army also announced on Sunday that it had taken off fighter planes and mobilized “all available forces and resources” to protect its territory during the nighttime Russian attack in Ukraine. Warsaw puts its armed forces on alert as soon as attacks against this neighboring country are deemed likely to create a danger for its own territory.