Large-scale strikes reported across Ukraine

Numerous strikes were reported across Ukraine on Friday, causing power outages in Kiev and several other cities.

Energy infrastructure in all parts of Ukraine has come “under a massive attack,” Kiev’s energy minister German Galuschenko said. Power engineers are working to minimize the negative effects of the bombardment, he added.

According to accounts on social media, explosions have been heard in Odessa, Ivano-Frankovsk and other regions. Strikes have been reported in the town of Burtysh in Ivano-Frankovsk Region, where a key power plant is located.

Ukrainian media have reported emergency power outages in Kiev, Odessa and elsewhere. In Ternopol Region, some 50% of residents are currently without electricity, according to local authorities.

Residents of Kharkov Region have reported sightings of missiles heading towards Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk) Region, where Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric station is located.

According to national media, air defenses have been activated in Lviv Region, which borders Poland.

Warsaw has said its Air Force has raised jets over the border area, in response to the Russian missile bombardment in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet officially commented on the strikes.

Ukraine’s state-run energy company, Ukrenergo, has warned that 50% of the population could be left without power on Friday due to the attack.

The reported bombardment comes two days after Ukraine fired six US-supplied ATACMS missiles at a military airfield near the southern city of Taganrog, inside Russia’s internationally recognized territory.

According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, two of the missiles were shot down and the rest were diverted using electronic warfare. The fallen debris resulted in some injuries and minor damage to two buildings and several vehicles, it said.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s response to the strike on Taganrog with Western-made weaponry “will follow at a time and in a manner deemed appropriate. But it will definitely follow.”