Russian forces attacked several Ukrainian energy facilities using drones and missiles early Saturday as part of a massive airstrike targeting cities across the country, including some close to the border with NATO members.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 53 missiles at Ukrainian territory, two-thirds of which were shot down, with some heading for the western Transcarpathia and Lviv regions bordering NATO members Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Polish Army said its fighter jets and those of other allies had been scrambled to protect the border in case Russian weapons crossed the border. Happened in the past.
Saturday's attack was Russia's sixth Ukrainian energy facilities attacked It appears to be part of a wider campaign to cut power to large swathes of the country since March, making civilian life miserable.
A barrage of missiles, Senior Ukrainian official said The attack, which wounded about 20 people and targeted an area less affected by the war, could lend urgency to Kiev's recent calls for allies to help protect its vulnerable regions. The move came a week after several NATO allies said they would allow Ukraine to fire limited Western weapons at Russia. Thursday's meeting with the U.S..
Ukrainian President Zelensky Interviewed by The New York Times Last month, Ukraine's western neighbors said that if they shot down Russian missiles approaching its border – without allowing its aircraft to cross Ukrainian airspace – it would reduce the burden on Ukrainian troops, who are Facing a shortage of air defense ammunition and weapons.
“Technically, all of this is possible,” Zelensky said. “From Russian aircraft, it is possible to shoot down Russian missiles that have entered Ukrainian territory.”
Ukraine's lack of air defenses has left some areas more vulnerable than others, and Russia has taken full advantage of that situation in recent months, striking cities and regions that are not as well protected as the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, which is protected by powerful American-made Patriot systems.
Saturday's attacks proved that point again, hitting energy facilities in five regions in western, central and southeastern Ukraine. The country's largest private power company, DTEK, reported heavy damage to two of its power plants. “It was another extremely difficult night for the Ukrainian energy sector,” the company said. In a statement.
Authorities say Ukraine has lost about 8 gigawatts of power generation capacity since March, about half of what it had at the start of the year, prompting them to introduce Rolling blackouts to save energy. Ukrenergo, the national electricity operator of Ukraine, Indicates the customer There will be power outages between 6 p.m. and midnight Saturday.
Saturday's attacks appeared to particularly affect western Ukraine, areas that had not been heavily bombarded during much of the war.
Maxim KozitzkyThe governor of Poland's nearby Lviv region said six cruise missiles hit three “critical infrastructures” in the area, but did not specify what was hit. Local officials Reportedly, a fire broke out at an energy facility.
this Ukrainian Air Force It also said the missile was heading for the city of Mukachevo in the southwestern Transcarpathia region, less than 25 miles from the borders of Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukrainian officials say that if its allies use their own air defenses to shoot down Russian missiles flying near their borders, Kiev could then redeploy air defense weapons stationed in those areas to other regions facing almost daily air strikes.
“It is important to shoot down Russian missiles in Ukrainian sovereign airspace, allowing Ukraine to concentrate its scarce anti-missile systems in the east and south of the country,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, said in a statement. Post on Telegram messaging app on Friday.
For example, the Ukrainian authorities Discussions with Poland Polish air defenses could potentially shoot down Russian missiles.
them Also recommended Some have suggested that the French-Italian SAMP/T air defense system deployed in Romania, which borders southwestern Ukraine, could be used to shoot down Russian missiles. But two French officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military matters, said France was reluctant to do so in part because the system is needed to protect NATO forces in Romania.
U.S. and European governments have been opposed to shooting down Russian weapons from NATO territory because it could provoke Russian retaliation, analysts say.
But Ukrainian officials could point to Saturday’s attack to press their case, just as they have pointed to Russia’s recent offensive in the northeast when urging allies to lift a ban on Ukraine using Western weapons to attack Russian territory.
In an interview with The Times, Zelensky argued that shooting down a Russian missile from NATO territory would not lead to an escalation.
“Why can't we shoot them down? Is this defense? Yes. Is this an attack on Russia? No. Do you shoot down Russian planes and kill Russian pilots? No,” the Ukrainian leader said. “So what's the problem with involving NATO countries in the war? There is no such problem. This is defense.”
However, Putin warned last week that any Western country that helps Ukraine attack Russia should realize “what games they are playing.”
