Russia carries out the first missile attack on Kiev since August, Ukraine says

MASSIVE ATTACK

Russia targeted Ukrainian power plants with attacks earlier this year, causing power outages. The situation has since improved, but officials believe the Kremlin will soon launch another attack on the grid.

Andrii Kovalenko, a senior official at the National Security and Defense Council, warned that Russia was ready to launch another “massive” attack and had amassed a large number of cruise missiles.

After Wednesday’s strike, electricity grid operator Ukrenergo said it would restrict electricity supplies to businesses due to “significantly” lower power imports and lower generation.

The last time power restrictions were imposed on both businesses and households was after a major Russian missile and drone attack in late August.

It was unclear whether the new restrictions were related to the latest attack. Ukraine’s largest private energy producer and distributor, DTEK, said the restrictions would apply to Kiev, the surrounding region and the Odessa, Dnipro and Donetsk regions.

Despite regular drone strikes, Russia has not hit Kiev with missiles since August 26, when it launched a massive attack across the country that deployed more than 200 drones and missiles, according to officials. Seven people were killed in that attack, Ukraine said.