Ukrainian air defenses intercepted all five missiles and shot down 48 out of 53 drones launched across nine regions during Russia’s overnight assault, the Ukrainian military reported on Friday. The Kyiv region suffered the most significant damage, with missiles and drones targeting industrial facilities. According to the regional governor, one drone caused a fire at an industrial site. Emergency services extinguished the blaze on Friday morning, with no casualties reported.
The Russian forces also launched attacks on the energy sector across several other regions. According to Ukraine’s electricity company DTEK, a total of four thermal power plants were hit, resulting in “an extremely tough night for the national energy system.”
In a separate attack, two oil refineries and three oil transport terminals were targeted. The attacks led to “the disruption of the supply of fuel for domestic consumption,” the energy ministry said.
A day earlier, Russian troops hammered the country’s power grid with dozens of long-range missiles and drone strikes. In the most serious incident, they destroyed a gas pipeline in central Ukraine and sparked a huge fire at a power station. Several other power stations in the eastern and western parts of the country were also hit.
The attack was part of a larger campaign targeting Ukraine’s energy system in recent weeks as Moscow seeks to limit energy supplies to the rebel-controlled territories and cripple its economy. In response to the uptick in Russian attacks, Kyiv has been stepping up drone and missile strikes in the past few weeks.
Ukraine has been deploying new American-made Patriot air defense systems to protect the capital and its borders from Moscow’s attacks. Those defenses, along with improved air defense capabilities, are expected to help counter the escalating Russian aggression in the east of the country.
Despite the heavy Russian bombardment, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to continue fighting for the country’s independence. In a video address, he called on Ukraine’s people to support the military effort and warned that the world should unite to prevent the rise of a new Nazism.
In other news, the United States is pressing China to attend a planned summit on Ukraine this month in Switzerland. The United States believes that Beijing’s participation is crucial to the success of any substantive talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
The United States is also pushing for a comprehensive peace deal to end the conflict in Ukraine. The top US diplomat for the region, Kurtis Cooper, said Washington will consider a range of proposals from all sides for a final resolution to the crisis by early 2024. In addition, he emphasized that there will be no political settlement to the conflict without Russian participation. He added that the United States will also seek to provide Ukraine with additional weapons and ammunition, including Bradleys and other armored vehicles. In the coming days, the State Department is set to announce a new package of aid to Ukraine.