Russia has launched a “massive” early morning missile and drone attack on energy facilities across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
More than 50 missiles and 20 drones were used in the attack, Mr Zelensky said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It marks the latest in a string of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, which Moscow insists is a legitimate military target.
The strikes targeted seven regions across the country and took place on a major national holiday commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War 2.
Writing on social media, Mr Zelensky drew parallels between the German invasion of the Soviet Union and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime as “Moscow Nazis”.
On Tuesday Mr Putin was sworn in for his fifth turn as president.
“Russia has brought pages from World War II textbooks back into the global media spotlight, demonstrating that Nazism has resurfaced with each new crime,” Mr Zelensky wrote.
“This time, it simply has a new label: ‘Made in Russia.'”
According to Ukraine’s largest energy provider, DTEK, at least three thermal powerplants were “seriously damaged” in Wednesday’s attack, the fifth on the company’s facilities in six weeks.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said that there “may be limitations to energy supply” for industrial consumers between 1800 (1600 BST) and 2300 as a result of the attack.
The strikes focused on key energy and transport sites in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv, Ukrainian officials said, adding that Soviet-era powerplants and gas storage facilities were among the targets.
“The enemy has not abandoned plans to deprive Ukrainians of light” Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said.
