‘MASSIVELY ATTACKING’

Ukraine Says Russian Airstrikes Hit Power Plants, Forcing Freezing Blackouts

At least two civilian deaths were also reported in the missile blasts, Ukrainian officials reported.

A new wave of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine on Friday hit several power plants along with electricity substations, leaving countless homes without power amid freezing winter temperatures, according to a report. Ukraine’s energy minister Herman Haluschenko announced the strikes on energy infrastructure, according to the BBC’s Vitaly Schevchenko, while Kyiv region governor Oleksiy Kuleba said Russia was “massively attacking” early Friday as up to 60 missiles were seen heading for Ukraine. Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, announced on Facebook that one missile hit a residential building and that the strike “took the lives of two people.” “Eight of them are injured. All at the hospital. Among the victims, three small children are a 3-year-old boy and a girl and a 7-year-old girl,” he added. Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said it had lost over half its power capacity due to the strikes, forcing emergency blackouts.