Russia unleashed a massive wave of missiles and drone strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, targeting critical power plants and plunging millions into darkness as temperatures hovered around freezing. Ukrainian officials reported major damage in nine regions, with over a million people immediately losing power and many more facing intensified rolling blackouts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the assault was in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. He warned that future targets could include strikes by hypersonic missiles on “decision-making centers” in Kyiv.
The attack, one of the largest since March, involved 91 missiles and 97 drones, according to Ukraine’s air force. While Ukrainian defenses intercepted 79 missiles and 35 drones, 12 missiles struck their targets, primarily energy and fuel facilities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the strikes as a “despicable escalation,” accusing Russia of using cruise missiles equipped with cluster munitions. He urged Western allies to strengthen their support, speaking with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, British PM Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to coordinate a response.
“Now is the time to strengthen our positions — the position of Ukraine and our partners,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.
Widespread impact on energy systems
The strikes severely disrupted Ukraine’s already strained energy grid, which has suffered 11 major attacks since March. Ukrenergo, the state grid operator, imposed deep power cuts, warning some areas could face 12-hour outages.
In western Ukraine, electricity was cut to over 500,000 people in Lviv, with similar outages affecting the Volyn and Rivne regions. Authorities relied on generators to supply heat and water to critical facilities such as hospitals and schools.
Ukraine disconnected its nuclear power plants from the grid before the attack as a precaution, a source in the energy sector said. The country relies on nuclear energy for over half of its electricity supply.
Naftogaz, Ukraine’s largest state oil and gas firm, confirmed its facilities were targeted during the strikes.
Russian tactics
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia employed advanced tactics to outmaneuver defences, including thermal and radar decoys, electronic warfare devices, and foggy weather conditions that hampered visibility.
“Western systems work much more effectively in such conditions, but Ukraine does not have enough to reliably cover hundreds of critical infrastructure facilities,” the Ukrainian air force said.
Biden’s reaction
The strikes by Russia drew condemnation from the United States President Joe Biden, who called it “outrageous” and pointed out the urgency of supporting Ukraine.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha reiterated calls for more air defence systems and long-range capabilities from Western allies, saying, “Putin does not want peace. We must force him into peace through strength.”
Russia advances on the ground
Meanwhile, Russian ground forces are reportedly advancing at their fastest pace in two years, with Moscow deploying a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile earlier this month.