KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russia launched a major air attack against Ukraine on Friday, launching 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and about 200 drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. He said this was one of the heaviest bombing raids on Russia’s energy sector since then. A full-scale invasion took place about three years ago.
President Zelensky said Ukraine’s defense forces shot down 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles intercepted by F-16 fighter jets provided by Western allies earlier this year.
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He said on his Telegram channel that Russia was “terrifying millions of people” with such assaults, and reiterated his appeal for international solidarity against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We need a strong reaction from the world. A massive strike, a massive response. This is the only way to stop terrorism,” Zelenskiy said.
However, it is uncertain how the war will unfold next year. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war and cast doubt on whether vital U.S. military aid to Kiev will continue.
In Moscow, the Defense Ministry announced that the Russian military had used long-range precision missiles and drones on “vital fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military-industrial complex.”
The attack was in retaliation for Wednesday’s attack on a Russian air base by Ukrainian forces using a US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACM), the paper said.
President Trump said in an interview published Thursday in Time magazine that he opposes allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to attack targets on Russian territory.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that President Trump’s position is “consistent with ours.”
“In this case, we have a common vision on the causes of escalation, and it is positive. Obviously, President Trump understands what escalates the conflict,” Peskov told reporters. spoke.
The U.S. Embassy in Kiev said Friday’s attacks also targeted transportation networks and other key facilities.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said its thermal power plants were “severely damaged” in the attack.
Russia has repeatedly attempted to shut down Ukraine’s power system in order to break the will of civilians left in the dark without running water or heat and to disrupt Ukraine’s defense industry.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Khrushchenko said energy workers were doing everything necessary to “minimize the negative impact on the energy system” and said he would publish details of the damage if the security situation allows. I promised.
Ukraine’s air force reported that multiple unmanned attack aircraft were launched into Ukraine overnight, followed by a swarm of cruise missiles into the country’s airspace. Russia also used air-launched ballistic Kinzhal missiles against western Ukraine, the report said.
A similar large-scale attack on November 28th used around 200 missiles and drones and left more than 1 million homes without power until emergency teams could restore supplies.
Read more: Power cut out to 1 million homes in Ukraine after latest Russian ‘massive’ air raid
Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling cruise and ballistic missiles in case of further attacks.
On November 21, Russia used a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time to attack an industrial plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk. President Putin said the Oleshnik missile attack was in retaliation for Ukraine’s attack on Russian territory with long-range weapons from the West.
He declared that further attacks with the new weapon could follow, and U.S. officials warned Wednesday that Oreshnik could be used again within days. There were no immediate signs of an attack in Friday’s attack.
About half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was destroyed during the war, and rolling blackouts are common and widespread.
Kiev’s Western allies provide Ukraine with air defenses to protect critical infrastructure, but Russia is trying to overwhelm them with a combined attack using large numbers of missiles and drones known as “swarms.”
Russia has taken the lead this year, with Russian forces steadily breaking through eastern Ukraine’s defenses in a series of slow but steady attacks.
