Devastating Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure: What we know so far

Russian forces have unleashed a massive wave of attacks against Ukrainian energy facilities, military-industrial enterprises, railway junctions, storage facilities, and deployment centers for Kiev’s forces and foreign “mercenaries,” the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

Ukrainian officials said the strikes had led to large-scale blackouts as a result of significant damage to power generation facilities, as well as transmission and distribution systems in various regions across the country.

A total of 150 facilities across Ukraine have been damaged, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office.

Kharkov Ukrainian officials have confirmed more than 20 attacks on Kharkov’s energy infrastructure, with the head of Ukrenergo stating that the situation “is the most difficult” after Russian forces tried to destroy “all the main energy facilities that power the city.”

Kharkov Mayor Igor Terekhov has claimed that the city is completely without power, stating that the damage at energy facilities is “too severe,” and that water and heat supply, electric transport, and traffic lights are out of order. He suggested that Friday’s attack was the largest since the start of the conflict two years ago.

Nevertheless, hospitals continue to operate because they run on generators and still have water, Tekerhkov said, adding that shops, pharmacies, markets, crime prevention centers, and hot food distribution outlets are still working.

Russia’s explanation Moscow has described the large-scale strikes as a response to the recent shellings of Russian territories by Ukraine’s forces and their attempts to capture Russian border settlements.

The Russian Defense Ministry said all of the objectives of the strikes had been accomplished and that a number of Ukrainian decision-making centers had been destroyed. These included airfield infrastructure facilities, weapon and equipment repair shops, UAV storage depots, logistics bases, and military deployment centers.

The ministry added that, over the past week, Russian forces had also carried out a total of 49 “retaliatory strikes” using high-precision, long-range, air-launched weapons, including Kinzhal aeroballistic hypersonic missiles, other missile systems, and UAVs.