Russia hits Ukraine's energy grid with 416-drone-and-missile barrage overnight
Russia launched 416 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, with energy infrastructure in Kharkiv and Poltava the main targets; 320 were downed as Naftogaz and DTEK reported gas production facilities hit.
Russia launched a combined overnight barrage of 416 drones and missiles at Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force said on Saturday, with energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions the main targets.
According to the Air Force Command, cited by Ukrinform, the attack began at 20:00 on Friday and comprised 381 strike drones of Shahed and Gerbera types and other unmanned aircraft, seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, 21 Iskander-K cruise missiles and seven Kh-59/69 guided aviation missiles. The drones were launched from Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, Orel, Shatalovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.
Ukrainian air defences had destroyed or suppressed 320 of the targets by 10:00 on Saturday — 303 drones, 12 Iskander-K cruise missiles and five Kh-59/69 missiles. Aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, drone units and mobile fire groups took part in repelling the assault. Impacts were recorded for 18 missiles and 78 drones across 15 locations, with debris from downed targets falling in six locations.
The overnight attacks also affected the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Kyiv regions, the Air Forces said.
Ukraine’s state-owned gas operator Naftogaz said its gas production facilities in both Kharkiv and Poltava were targeted, Xinhua reported, while the country’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said several gas production facilities in the central Poltava region were forced to halt operations following the strikes. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said rescuers and energy workers were working to mitigate the damage and stabilise the situation.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out a large-scale overnight strike against Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy infrastructure, using long-range precision weapons launched from land, air and sea as well as combat drones, according to Xinhua.
The barrage follows Friday’s smaller wave of more than 100 drones that repeatedly hit Kyiv’s Southern Bridge and killed one person in a high-rise in the capital’s Darnytskyi district.
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