Russia launches massive missile and drone attack, targeting Ukraine power grid, killing 7

Joe Biden condemned strikes as ‘outrageous’, said Washington will continue surging energy equipment to Ukraine to support its energy grid

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Rescuers stand by the cars of a transport company destroyed by a massive Russian missile and drone attack on Monday. Photo: Ukrinform / dpa

Published: 6:50pm, 26 Aug 2024Updated: 7:43am, 27 Aug 2024

Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 200 missiles and drones on Monday, killing seven people and striking energy facilities nationwide, Kyiv said, while neighbouring Nato member Poland reported a drone had probably entered its airspace.

Power cuts and water supply outages were reported in many areas, including parts of Kyiv, as officials said the attack – two-and-a-half years since the full-scale invasion – targeted power or other critical infrastructure across the country.

Russia stepped up its strikes on the Ukrainian power grid in March in what Kyiv has said looked like a concerted effort to degrade the system ahead of next winter when people need electricity and heating most.

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Odesa region on Monday. Photo: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region / Handout via Reuters

The air force downed 102 out of 127 incoming missiles and 99 out of 109 drones, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram, describing the attack from the air, ground and sea as “the most massive” of the war.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, 15 regions sustained damage. President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was “a lot of damage in the energy sector”.

US President Joe Biden condemned Russia’s strikes as “outrageous”. In a statement on Monday, he added that Washington will continue surging energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems and to support Ukraine’s energy grid.

“I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, Russia’s continued war against Ukraine and its efforts to plunge the Ukrainian people into darkness,” Biden said.