Russia bombs power grids all the way to western Ukraine… NATO allies at the border

Bombing of 120 missiles and 90 suicide drones throughout Kiiu and other areas.
“The largest infrastructure attack ever”… Poland makes emergency sorties of fighter jets into its airspace

Russia once again carried out large-scale airstrikes on power facilities across Ukraine ahead of midwinter, when energy demand surges due to the cold. As western Ukraine, the eastern front line of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was hit, tensions arose to the extent that Poland, a NATO ally, had to sortie warplanes into the country.

According to major foreign media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the 17th (local time) that Russia had carried out a large-scale attack by mobilizing about 120 missiles and 90 drones. “The enemy’s targets were energy facilities across Ukraine,” President Zelensky said. “Unfortunately, airstrikes and falling debris damaged these facilities.” Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushenko also said in a Telegram message on the same day that a large-scale attack on the power system was taking place, saying, “Enemies are attacking power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine.”

The attacks on this day took place throughout Ukraine, including the capital Kiev, northern and southern regions. In Chiiu, at least two people were injured when debris fell on a residential building and a fire broke out, city officials said on Telegram. In the northwestern city of Bolin, energy facilities were reported to have suffered damage. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, two people were reportedly killed in a drone attack overnight. Zaporizhia near the Eastern Front and southern Odessa were also bombed, and multiple explosions were reported to have occurred in central Kryvyrikh, Lyune, and western Lviv.

In particular, Poland dispatched air force fighter jets in response to Russia’s attack that day. However, the fighter jet stayed within Polish airspace. In response to Russia’s large-scale attack targeting western Ukraine and elsewhere, the Polish Operational Command posted on “The ground-based air defense network and radar reconnaissance system have been placed on highest alert,” he said. At the same time, this response was “aimed at ensuring the safety of areas close to the threatened area,” and explained that it was a preliminary response to a potential threat rather than an intervention in the war in Ukraine.

The Polish Operational Command announced that Russia’s latest airstrike on Ukraine used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones (armed unmanned aerial vehicles). As a NATO ally bordering western Ukraine, Poland has shown a sensitive response when Russia deviates from the front line and conducts air strikes deep into Ukrainian territory.

Russia has been intensively destroying Ukraine’s power facilities since its invasion in February 2022. This has been evaluated as having the nature of psychological warfare aimed at discouraging the Ukrainian people by making power outages and heating difficult. Previously, Russia carried out more than 200 missile and drone strikes across Ukraine in August, causing significant damage to energy infrastructure. “Russia has carried out one of the largest airstrikes targeting peaceful cities, sleeping civilians and critical infrastructure,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha.

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