Ukraine plunged into darkness after large-scale Russian overnight attack | World | News
In the latest of its ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Friday night (November 7), causing emergency power outages in many regions. “The enemy is once again launching a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy said. “As a result, emergency power outages occurred in many regions of Ukraine.”
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk stated on Facebook As soon as the security situation allows, emergency officials and power engineers will begin responding to restore power supply in the oblasts as quickly as possible following the attack. Emergency blackouts will be lifted once the energy system stabilizes. An air strike warning was issued throughout Ukraine due to the take-off of the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) plane and the detection of cruise missiles late on Friday.
At around 01:00 in the morning on Saturday, November 8, another air raid warning was issued after a MiG-31K took off in Russia. Russia also attacked Ukraine overnight with unmanned aerial vehicles and ballistic missiles.
“Thank you to the energy workers, DSNS workers, local services who did everything to keep Ukrainians with light and warmth,” Ms. Hrynchuk added. “I urge everyone to remain calm and comply with official information. Ukraine will have light and warmth this winter, despite the enemy’s plans.”
As winter approaches, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy network, targeting essential infrastructure and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power. Ukrainians are bracing for a new season of widespread power outages, with President Volodymyr Zelensky warning that the strikes are aimed at creating a nationwide “energy disaster”.
This latest attack comes just weeks after a major Russian attack on a coal mine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Sunday that left 192 workers trapped underground, according to Ukrainian energy firm DTEK. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, has come under repeated attacks from Russia, which forced it to temporarily close its facilities and disrupted heating supplies to homes.
On the other hand, earlier this week, Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Volgograd oil refinery, causing fires and damage at the huge Lukoil facility. Videos shared on social media showed explosions and flashes of light near the refinery around 01:00 local time.
Meanwhile, Putin was left red-faced when an 11-year-old girl stood up to the Russian President over the treatment of her uncle. Kira asked the Russian leader why his uncle, who had been wounded in the arm in the battle, was sent back to the “front line”. The schoolgirl met Mr Putin in Red Square in Moscow and pleaded with him to transfer her uncle to “a good hospital in Russia”. She told him bluntly: “They don’t treat him at all and now they send him back on a mission [to fight].
The Russian dictator looked confused and replied: “We will definitely find him, okay?” But he did not promise to take her off the front lines so she could be treated.
Earlier this year, footage emerged showing exhausted and injured Russian soldiers using walking aids to carefully navigate muddy trenches as Putin forced them back into battle. The Kremlin has lost a staggering 220,000 Russians since the start of the war; This includes Kira’s father, Vladimir Pimenov, 36, who was killed while fighting in the Donetsk region last year.
