Russia launched more missile strikes across Ukraine on Wednesday, hitting energy facilities and causing blackouts throughout the country.
The big picture: Since early October Russia has escalated its missile strikes on Ukraine, targeting the country’s critical infrastructure and causing massive blackouts and energy rationing.
- As of early November, Russian attacks had “seriously damaged” about 40% of Ukraine’s entire energy infrastructure.
- The attacks increasingly threaten to leave many Ukrainians without electricity, water and heat as winter approaches.
State of play: Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on Facebook that “the vast majority of electricity consumers across the country” were without power.
- Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president’s office, wrote on Telegram that critical infrastructure facilities were hit in several areas.
- In Kyiv, there were “hits on the housing sector and critical infrastructure facilities,” Kyiv regional Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram. “There is a threat of repeated shelling. Stay in shelters!”
- More than 20 people were injured and one person killed around the capital region, Kuleba wrote.
Driving the news: “The Kyiv region is completely without electricity. There is also a partial lack of heating and water supply,” Kuleba said.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in a Telegram post that “water supply has been suspended” throughout the city due to the shelling, and that specialists were working to restore water and power supplies to the city.
- Emergency power shutdowns are occurring in all regions of Ukraine as missile strikes are ongoing, the country’s electric utility, Ukrenergo, wrote on Telegram Wednesday.
- Lviv’s regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyy tweeted that there were two strikes on electrical substations there, adding that several districts of the region were left without power.
Meanwhile, Russia launched rockets at a maternity ward of a hospital in the Zaporizhzhia region overnight, regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukh wrote in a Telegram post. He said a baby had been killed and rescuers were at the scene.
Worth noting: The Russian strikes also caused “massive power outages” in neighboring Moldova, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu wrote in a Telegram post.
- The country’s Transmission System Operator is “working to reconnect more than 50% of the country to electricity,” Spinu tweeted.
- Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities also caused power outages in Moldova last week.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.