Russia fired about 120 missiles and 90 drones into Ukraine this morning. It is the biggest attack in months. The goal is to hit the country’s energy infrastructure just as winter begins.
“The enemy’s target was the energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media this morning. At least seven people were killed and nineteen injured.
Ukraine reports that it has managed to shoot down 144 of 210 missiles and drones. F-16 fighter planes, among others, were used for this purpose. “Unfortunately, there is damage from impacts and falling debris,” Zelensky wrote.
Russia appears to have used a combination of different types of weapons, including advanced missiles that can travel up to 10,000 kilometers per hour.
Houses in the city of Odesa, among others, were damaged by the attack, as shown in the images below. Local authorities report problems with the supply of electricity, running water and gas. There are also problems with energy supplies in other regions, but for the time being there does not appear to be a huge power shortage.
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Missiles and drones flew across the country. The map below is shared on Ukrainian social media, giving an idea of the scale of the attack. The yellow triangles symbolize drones, the other arrows are different types of missiles.
Some of the rockets flew close to the border with Poland this morning. It was on high alert to shoot down missiles and drones over its own territory.
“It is one of the biggest attacks in a long time,” said defense expert Patrick Bolder of the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. “In recent weeks we have also seen preparations for this, including through drone attacks from Russia. Recently, the number of missile attacks from Russia has been limited.”
Long awaited
The attack had long been expected in Ukraine. “Russia is fully prepared for massive rocket attacks,” security official Andriy Kovalenko warned. “They have an ample supply of missiles at strategic airfields, and the supplies are increasing.”
With winter approaching, it seemed only a matter of time before Russia would attack the energy grid again. There was a smaller attack last Wednesday, with about ninety drones and six missiles.
The International Energy Agency said Ukraine could face a power shortage of six gigawatts this winter, a third of what the country consumes. The more major attacks Russia carries out, the worse the power shortage becomes.
Ukraine’s largest energy company, DTEK, reports damage to thermal power plants. “Russia resumed its attacks on us this morning,” the company’s CEO Maxim Timchenko wrote in a press release. The company cannot say exactly how many power stations were hit, ‘for reasons of national security’.
“There has been serious damage to Ukraine’s energy system, including DTEK’s power plants. These attacks make it clear once again that Ukraine needs additional air defense systems from our allies to prevent more destruction. Power supplies for millions of people this winter depend on it.”
Exhaustion
Russia has been firing long-range drones almost every day for months. In October, about two thousand drones flew through the country. Most attacks occur at night and early morning, causing the population to suffer from sleep deprivation.
“The mornings are completely ruined,” Mykyta, a resident of Kyiv, told Reuters this morning from a bomb shelter. “I started studying in September, and every morning is ruined by those damn Russians. I can’t sleep, I can’t think, and I drink energy drinks all the time.”
Conversations with Putin
The Russian attack comes shortly after American media reported a possible telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The future American president wants to ensure that the war in Ukraine ends by forcing both Russia and Ukraine to negotiate. Moscow denies that the two men spoke to each other.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Putin last week, for the first time in almost two years. The German leader urged Putin for negotiations and a “just peace.”
The telephone conversations make little impression on the Russian president, says defense expert Patrick Bolder of the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. “Putin is giving the West a big thumbs up. With this attack he is saying that Trump doesn’t care about him. The West is not united after all, he thinks, so Putin can do whatever he wants.”
Attack on Russia
Last night, Ukraine also carried out a striking attack on Russian territory. According to an independent report, the site of a drone factory hit the town of Izhevsk, more than a thousand kilometers from the front. Local authorities report one injury, and say the damage is not too bad.
