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Ukraine said it would introduce nationwide emergency power restrictions Monday after a “massive” Russian attack further damaged its already fragile energy grid ahead of a much-feared winter, with nine civilians also killed across the country on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow launched 120 missiles and almost 100 drones, targeting Kyiv as well as southern, central and far-western corners of the country.
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Civilians were killed in the Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions in what officials in the capital called one of the biggest barrages in the almost three-year Russian invasion.
The devastation comes at a time when Moscow has been steadily advancing in Ukraine’s east and with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House, raising fears over the future of US support for Kyiv.
“A hellish night,” the spokesman for Ukraine’s air force, Yuriy Ignat, said on social media, adding that Kyiv had downed “144 targets”.
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The country’s grid operator Ukrenergo said it would apply emergency measures in all regions on Monday.
“Tomorrow, November 18, all regions will be forced to apply consumption restriction measures,” Ukrenergo posted on social media. “The reason for the temporary return of restrictions is the damage to power facilities during today’s massive missile and drone attack.”
Almost three years of war with Russia has already destroyed half of Ukraine’s energy production capacity, Zelensky has warned.
With the harsh Ukrainian winter fast approaching, the country is already suffering from major energy shortfalls, while its outmanned and outgunned forces have been ceding ground to the Kremlin’s troops for weeks.
The giant attack followed two days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in almost two years, urging the Kremlin chief to end Moscow’s devastating offensive.
