Russia is launching a massive airstrike in Ukraine with dozens of cruise missiles and drones

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russia on Friday launched a major air strike against Ukraine, including dozens of cruise missiles and drones.

Russian troops targeted Ukraine’s power grid, energy minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on his Facebook page. He said: “The enemy continues to be afraid.

Halushchenko said that power workers are doing everything necessary to “minimize negative effects on the power system,” promising to release more information on the damage if the security situation allows.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that a number of incoming drones were launched in Ukraine overnight followed by a number of missiles in the country’s airspace. It said Russia also used air-launched ballistic Kinzhal missiles against the western regions of Ukraine.

Friday’s attack is the latest in a series of similar incidents that have raised fears that the Kremlin is planning to cripple the country’s electricity generation as winter approaches.

Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Russia has relentlessly clamped down on Ukraine’s electricity system, leading to repeated shutdowns of vital heating and drinking water during the bitter winter months in an apparent attempt to break Ukraine’s air and settlement. Moscow has announced that the attack was aimed at stopping the Ukrainian defense industry producing missiles, drones, armored vehicles and weapons among other weapons.

The previous major such attack on November 28 involved missiles and 200 drones and left more than a million homes without power until emergency teams restored supplies.