Russia hits Ukrainian energy sites
Russian forces have carried out a series of strikes on Ukrainian energy sites on Friday, the Defense Ministry has said in its daily briefing.
According to the MOD, a 'group strike' targeted 'gas and energy infrastructure that powers the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.' Long-range missiles and drones were used in the barrage.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook that 'the energy and gas infrastructure in different Ukrainian regions has been hit by massive missiles and drone strikes.'
The authorities were responding with 'necessary measures to stabilize the energy and gas supply.'
Ukraine's national gas and oil company Naftogaz said in a short statement that its gas-extracting facilities have been damaged. Officials in the northern Chernigov Region and the western regions of Ternopol and Ivano-Frankovsk reported local power outages from strikes on 'critical industrial sites.'
The local authorities in the eastern Poltava Region said that 'the fragments of an enemy projectile' fell on a house, injuring three people.
Russia first ramped up strikes on energy infrastructure in response to the Ukrainian bombing of the long bridge that connects Crimea with mainland Russia in October 2022.
In April 2024, President Vladimir Putin said that Russian forces were hitting energy facilities in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil. 'We have seen a series of strikes on our energy sites and were forced to retaliate,' he said.
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