Russia spear launched this Sunday one of the biggest attacks since the start of the war against Ukrainian energy infrastructure with 120 missiles and 90 drones. At least 10 people died. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskydescribed the airstrikes as a “massive combined attack in all regions” aimed at damaging the country’s energy infrastructure. Russia said its target was “energy infrastructure critical to Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.”
Ukrainian officials stressed that the attack was part of the Russian president’s strategy.Vladimir Putin, to seek a peace agreement beneficial to Moscow after Donald Trump’s electoral victory in the United States. He german chancellorOlaf Scholz, He called Putin on Friday for the first time in two yearsurging him to negotiate. Instead, Putin maintains that kyiv must cede territory and stay outside NATO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that some 120 missiles and 90 drones had been launched against targets across the country. Russia launched missiles Zircon, Iskander and Kinzhal -all difficult to intercept without Western weapons-, in addition Iranian drone Shahed. The Ukrainian Air Force defended against the attack with F16, Su-27 and MiG fighters, air defense systems, local mobile groups dedicated to shooting down drones and electronic warfare units encoding GPS signals.
In the video below, released by the Ukrainian Air Force, you can see Private Natalia Hrabarchuk launch a missile at a target from a portable system.
On the morning of November 17, Private Nataliia Hrabarchuk successfully shot down a Russian cruise missile using an Igla MANPADS.
It was his first combat launch and his first successful hit! pic.twitter.com/ovDwfVkFe8– Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) November 17, 2024
Romania and Moldovaneighboring countries, They accused Russia of deliberately trying to attack the Ukrainian population so that they could not have heat during the winter.with attacks similar to those of last year at this time. The governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, confirmed that heat and water supplies had been interrupted.
This Sunday, they began to assess the total damage. This Sunday’s attack is the tenth against energy infrastructure in 2024. After a series of attacks in spring and summer, Russia has already eliminated around 80% of Ukraine’s thermal generation and destroyed a third of hydroelectric generation capacity.. The latest pause in missile attacks allowed Ukraine to restore some equipment, but this new round of bombing again caused significant damage. Authorities declined to immediately specify the extent of the impact.
These new attacks took place after Trump made clear his desire to end the war. If the United States withdraws its military aidit is not clear whether the The European Union would be ready to compensate for the deficit. Ukraine depends on the United States for its air defense missiles who implemented the sophisticated Patriot systemthe best tool Ukraine has for shooting down ballistic missiles. Ukraine is in a weak position, which puts it at a disadvantage for possible negotiations.
