Russia Strikes Ukraine With Missiles and Drones, Targets Energy Infrastructure
Ukraine’s gas facilities in Kharkiv and Poltava suffer critical damage as aerial offensive escalates amid winter preparations.
Russian forces launched a large scale aerial assault on Ukraine, striking military facilities and critical gas infrastructure, officials said. The attack involved missiles and long range drones, targeting multiple strategic locations overnight Friday, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, Naftogaz, described the strike as the largest attack on its gas production facilities since the war began. Approximately 35 missiles, including ballistic types, and 60 drones hit sites in Kharkiv and Poltava, causing “critical” damage. While some were intercepted, a significant portion of the attacks succeeded.
Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said emergency crews were already on-site assessing the impact and initiating recovery. He emphasized the importance of a rapid response to mitigate the attack’s effect on Ukraine’s energy supply, particularly ahead of winter.
The assault also targeted DTEK Group gas facilities, further escalating Russia’s offensive on Ukraine’s energy sector. Officials noted that this comes after previous massive strikes, including a September 7 aerial offensive that deployed over 800 drones and multiple missiles, causing civilian casualties in Kyiv and other cities.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks as deliberate crimes aimed at prolonging the war, calling for international political will to stop further killings. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko described the strikes as a “massive attack,” affecting multiple cities including Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Odesa, and Kyiv.
The incident marks a sharp escalation in hostilities, highlighting the vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and raising concerns as the winter season approaches.
