Ukraine reels from massive Russian missile attack
In a rare move, Moscow fires six of its nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles
Russia has carried out one of its largest strikes on Ukraine, including with nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles which hit cities and knocked off back-up power at Europe’s largest atomic plant.
Of the more than 80 rockets fired, six were nuclear-capable hypersonic Kh-47 Kinzhal air-to-surface missiles, according to Ukrainian officials. The assault has left much of Kyiv without electricity.
Russia has never before fired so many Kinzhals in one attack, said Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, who added that Russia only has dozens of these missiles. The barrage included other types of missiles Ukraine was unable to intercept, such as X-22 supersonic missiles.
The use of these weapons suggests Moscow prioritised the destruction of Thursday’s targets, which included residential areas in Kyiv and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, whose back-up power was cut off in the attack, according to nuclear power company Energoatom.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, said on Thursday that 40 per cent of Kyiv’s population was without electricity as a result of the strikes, along with some blackouts in other parts of the country.
The Zaporizhzhia plant was forced to rely on diesel generators for cooling systems, the company said. Located in southern Ukraine and under Russian occupation since March 2022, the plant has been repeatedly hit by artillery strikes and has lost back-up power supply several times.
“Currently, the power plant is de-energised and stays in blackout mode for the sixth time during the occupation,” Energoatom said in a statement.
“If the off-site power supply to the plant cannot be restored . . . an accident may occur having radiation consequences for the whole world,” the company added.
Explosions were also recorded in the capital city Kyiv and in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv, where officials said five civilians were killed.
The full extent of damage to Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure is not yet clear. Weekly air strikes in previous months triggered hours-long power outages across the country, but supply was largely stable in past weeks during a relative lull in Russian missile attacks.
“It’s been a difficult night. A massive rocket attack across the country,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post. “The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done.”