Overnight Russian drone and missile attacks on the power grid and areas around Kyiv left seven people dead, officials said on Wednesday.According to the AP, the assault caused power cuts and raised questions over whether it signalled the start of Russia’s expected cold-weather offensive, which Ukrainian officials characterise as an attempt to “weaponise winter”.Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said on Telegram that Russia had struck energy infrastructure on virtually every day since the summer. However, he said an attack of such scale, combining different types of weapons, had not occurred since the end of the last heating season.“There has been virtually no day since summer when the enemy did not attack energy infrastructure,” Koretskyi said.“But such a massive and combined attack happened for the first time since the end of the last heating season”, he added.Since the end of August, Moscow has significantly increased the frequency of air campaigns against Kyiv, piling pressure on the country as it prepares for winter.In the colder months, Russia routinely targets energy facilities in an effort to deprive Ukrainians of heating, electricity and running water.Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the rise in strikes had brought days of almost continuous air raid alerts across the country.“Russia is intensifying its terror: jet-powered drones during the day, ballistic and cruise missiles at night, constant attacks against our cities and civilian life,” Sybiha said on X.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv was the main target for Russians.
Kyiv’s air defence vulnerability
According to reports, Ukraine is critically short of US-made Patriot missiles, its primary defence against fast-moving Russian weaponry.Russia has taken advantage of weaknesses in Ukraine’s air defences by using ballistic missiles and new jet-powered drones, both of which are difficult to intercept.Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said that Russia launched 2,850 jet-propelled drones against Ukraine in August.By Tuesday, the country had already fired 3,177 this month, Ihnat said.Speaking on Ukrainian television late on Tuesday, Ihnat said the attacks arrive in waves, mostly directed at Kyiv and its surrounding region.He said Ukraine requires more missiles for its Patriot systems to counter ballistic threats, as well as for other ground-based air defences.
