(NewsWorthy.news) – Russia ramped up its assault on Ukraine’s energy facilities with a “massive attack” at night on June 21, according to the Ukrainian energy ministry. The shelling at one of the facilities injured multiple workers. The ministry released a statement the following day highlighting how difficult the energy sector’s situation was following the attacks, which have led to blackouts across the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier in June that Russia’s assaults had caused damage and destruction to over half of the country’s generation of power. The damage has resulted in the most serious rolling blackouts since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Ukraine started implementing the rolling blackouts on May 15. The measures involved disconnecting power from whole districts of Kyiv to conserve energy.
Kyiv has also been carrying out strikes across the border against Russia’s oil infrastructure. On June 18, Ukraine claimed that drones had hit a Russian oil facility in a border region. Fires were reported a couple of days later at oil storage depots in two Russian regions following more drone attacks.
Over 50 missiles and 20 drones were used in the latest assault on Ukraine’s energy grid. Following the attack, Zelenskyy pressed Kyiv’s allies in the West to deliver promised air defenses more quickly. He stressed how urgently the country needed faster training for its F-16 pilots and prompt deliveries of Patriot air defense systems.
Kyiv has been forced to improvise to cope with the power shortages until its arsenal is boosted by deliveries from its allies. Shopping centers, hotels and restaurants are relying on generators. One IT worker in the city, 34-year-old Oleksandr Babich, said he has to search for a quiet spot in a cafe that has power due to his office no longer having power.
A smoothie bar-owner, 46-year-old Olha Bondarenko, had to remove items from her menu that required more preparation time due to the amount of energy used by blenders. Babich claimed that Russia is trying to send Ukraine back to the stone age, and spoke of the worry that many civilians have about power shortages continuing into the coming winter months.
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