Moscow readies large‑scale strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid

Updated 12 min 1 sec ago

August 30, 2026 07:58

AFP

• Russia’s repeated attacks on Ukrainian power plants have crippled the country’s energy sector, leaving millions without heat and electricity.

MOSCOW: Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday it was preparing extensive strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as a retaliatory measure to Kyiv’s attacks. “Russian forces have started preparations for massive strikes against facilities in Ukraine’s energy sector in response to the ongoing attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure and on Russia’s oil and energy complex,” the ministry stated on Telegram. Last winter, Moscow repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power plants, devastating the country’s energy sector and plunging millions into cold and darkness during sub‑zero temperatures. Over recent months, both sides have escalated long‑range attacks, hitting warehouses, industrial sites, oil terminals, ports, and shipping lanes, which has increased civilian casualties. On Sunday, the Russian military reported striking a Kyiv‑area plant that manufactures asbestos and cement, whose warehouses it said stored explosives, as well as a facility that produces drones and munitions. A Russian strike on Saturday against an ammunition depot on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital caused a massive explosion, killing at least 37 people. In response, Ukraine launched a drone attack on an oil refinery in northwestern Russia, igniting a fire, according to local authorities.

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