Massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s power grid with 90 drones and 120 missiles causes power outages and casualties

Russia launched one of its largest combined air attacks in months on 17 November, deploying around 120 missiles and 90 drones to strike energy infrastructure across Ukraine, killing several civilians and causing widespread power outages, Ukrainian officials reported. The massive Russian air attack killed at least three civilians, and injured 11 others, according to official reports.

Russia continues its deliberate daily air attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure. Since October 2022, it has systematically targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with extensive missile and drone assaults, aiming to disrupt civilian life, particularly during the winter months.

Today’s massive missile attack began with a routine Shahed long-range “kamikaze” drone assault. After most Shaheds were intercepted, Russia launched a massive missile barrage, deploying various types, including ballistic missiles. Ukraine remains stretched thin on Patriot air defense systems, its only reliable defense against ballistic missile threats in such combined assaults.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces employed Shahed explosive drones, alongside various types of cruise, ballistic, and aeroballistic missiles including Zircon, Iskander, and Kinzhal weapons. Ukrainian air defense forces intercepted over 140 aerial targets, according to Zelenskyy.

“We are grateful to all our air defenses involved in repelling this attack: the anti-aircraft missile forces, our aviation – pilots of F-16s, Su fighters, and MiGs, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units – all worked in an organized manner. Thank you for your reliable protection!” Zelenskyy wrote.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the massive morning attack “war criminal Putin’s true response to all those who called and visited him recently.” The Minister implied recent German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and possibly US President-Elect Donald Trump’s calls to Putin, and the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Russia’s Kazan three weeks ago.

https://twitter.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1858028301219987877/

Russia launched multiple Shahed drones late on 16 November, with some explosive drones remaining in the air as of the time of the massive morning Russian missile attack. The Shaheds targeted south-Ukrainian Mykolaiv, Kyiv, and other cities.

Around 3 a.m., the Ukrainian Air Force reported that seven Tu-95MS strategic bombers took off from Olenegorsk, with later unofficial updates indicating additional bombers departing from Engels Airbase. The aircraft fired Kh-101/Kh-55 cruise missiles from launch positions near the Caspian Sea at around 6 a.m., alongside Kalibr sea-launched cruise missile launches from the Black Sea around 6:00 a.m., followed by Kinzhal missiles from Tambov.

Russia targeted energy facilities across Ukraine

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said Russia was attacking power generation and transmission facilities across Ukraine.

“Another massive attack on the power system is underway. The enemy is attacking power generation and transmission facilities across Ukraine. The transmission system operator has urgently implemented emergency power cuts. Where possible, rescue workers and power engineers are already working to eliminate the consequences,” Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.

Ukrainian airspace monitoring channels linked to the military reported that the absolute majority of Russian missiles targeted energy infrastructure. One such channel, Nikolaevsky Vanyok, noted,

“The exception, of course, was Stargon (the Ukrainian bomber base near Starokostiantyniv, – Ed); even cluster munitions flew there. Otherwise, it was purely about energy targets.”

Due to the missile attack, emergency power cuts were implemented in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, DTEK energy company reported.

In Odesa, all electric transport stopped operating after the attacks, Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov reported. Several districts of Odesa lost power supply.

DTEK said this was the eighth massive attack on their energy facilities this year, with their thermal power plants having been targeted over 190 times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Mykolaiv: two killed, children among six injured

In south Ukrainian Mykolaiv City, the Russian attack killed two people and injured six others, including two children, local authorities reported. Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure in residential areas. One child was hospitalized while another received psychological assistance, Oblast Military Administration head Vitalii Kim said.

Kyiv: two injured

In the capital city of Kyiv, two civilians were wounded, and debris crashes were reported in three districts. According to Kyiv City Military Administration, one woman was hospitalized with a head injury after drone debris hit an apartment building in the Pechersk district, causing a fire and partial destruction of the building’s structure. Another woman received medical assistance at the scene, according to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko. Emergency services evacuated 30 residents.

Debris also fell near a supermarket in the Holosiivskyi district with no reported casualties or damage. In the Dniprovskyi district, drone debris fell in a park’s green zone and possibly into a water body, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Kyiv’s air defense intercepted several Kh-101/55 cruise missiles, Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, Iskander-M ballistic missiles, and reportedly a Zircon hypersonic missile, according to Kyiv Administration chief Serhiy Popko. The air raid alert in Kyiv lasted nearly five hours. This was the most powerful strike in nearly three months, Popko added.

Lviv Oblast: woman killed, two men injured

In western Ukraine’s Lviv Oblast, one 66-year-old woman was killed and two men were injured when missile debris fell in the Sheptytsky district. The woman was in a car at the time of the attack. The attack damaged a main heating pipeline, leaving 6,000 people without heating, Lviv Oblast Military Administration head Maksym Kozytsky reported.

Dnipro: man injured

In central Ukraine’s Dnipro City, a 42-year-old man suffered shrapnel wounds. High-rise buildings, an educational institution, and a vehicle were damaged, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration head Serhiy Lysak reported. Explosions were also heard in Kryvyi Rih, Samariv district, and Kamianske. Several fires broke out.

Damage and interceptions reported in multiple regions

Critical infrastructure was hit in Vinnytsia Oblast after three series of explosions, but no injuries were reported, Deputy Head of Oblast Military Administration Natalia Zabolotna said.

Northwestern Ukraine’s Volyn Oblast also reported strikes on critical infrastructure with no casualties, Oblast Military Administration head Rudnytsky wrote.

Explosions were reported in Kirovohrad Oblast’s Svitlovodsk community, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne (where water supply interruptions were possible due to the attack), Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Poltava Oblast, public broadcaster Suspilne reported. Additionally, three strikes were recorded in Zaporizhzhia, according to Oblast Military Administration head Ivan Fedorov.

In a rare occurrence, a drone crashed in the Mukachevo district of Zakarpattia Oblast near the Lviv Oblast border, local authorities reported. Russian aerial weapons rarely reach Zakarpattia due to the Carpathian mountain range being a natural obstacle for them.

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