“Just today, Russia struck our gas infrastructure with 35 missiles, including ballistic weapons. It was a combined strike, and only half of the missiles were shot down,” Zelensky said after a meeting with Ukraine’s top military command.
Zelensky added additional attacks also hit the Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, while ballistic missiles struck energy facilities in Donetsk Oblast, including in Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Druzhkivka.
On Friday, a massive Russian air assault struck some of Ukraine’s main gas production facilities, causing critical damage. Russia attacked facilities of Ukraine’s state gas and oil company Naftogaz in the Kharkiv and Poltava oblasts, Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said.
Koretskyi called it the largest attack on the company’s sites since Russia’s full-scale war began in 2022. Top private energy provider DTEK said it had suspended operations at several gas facilities in Poltava Oblast.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid, gas facilities and heating systems ahead of winter in an attempt to make living conditions unbearable for civilians. Last year, sustained strikes plunged millions into darkness and left entire cities without heat during freezing months.
Zelensky praised emergency workers and local authorities for quickly repairing damage and restoring power.
The president also urged Ukraine’s military command to strengthen air defenses, especially in the country’s northeast, to better protect against drones and missiles aimed at vital infrastructure.
Bloomberg has reported, citing sources close to the Kremlin, that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to continue targeting Ukraine’s energy network this winter as part of a broader escalation meant to pressure Kyiv into peace talks.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry has announced it was stockpiling fuel and equipment while coordinating with the army to defend energy sites from aerial attacks. Officials hope to reach 17.6 gigawatts of power generation capacity to meet winter demand, though that is still far below the 36 gigawatts available before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
