KYIV: Russia has expanded strikes from eastern and central Ukraine to energy facilities in previously untargeted western regions, causing waves of blackouts, energy ministry officials and local authorities said on Tuesday.
In October, before the start of the cold season, Russia resumed attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, targeting power plants and electricity transmission systems.
“Unfortunately, the enemy continues to deliberately and systematically attack our energy infrastructure,” Artem Nekrasov, deputy Ukrainian energy minister, said in a televised statement.
He said Russia struck energy facilities in the central Kirovohrad region, western Zhytomyr, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions and in the southern region of Odesa. “As a result of the attacks, some consumers were left without electricity,” he added.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said on Tuesday that a Russian attack overnight hit three of its energy facilities in the southern Odesa region and that 32,700 families remained without electricity.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors dozens of times in the week since US President Donald Trump announced a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.
Ukraine had previously said it was ready for an energy ceasefire, but also asked its allies to provide missiles to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, which Moscow uses to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.