Russia attacks Ukraine electricity network sparking fears of potential missile strike by Putin this weekend

For the third consecutive year, Russia’s primary winter strategy continued by targeting Ukraine’s power grid as the country braces for freezing temperatures in the upcoming winter months, dealing a significant blow to its largest energy company.

In one of the most extensive attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, Moscow launched around 90 missiles, which included cruise missiles, and deployed 200 drones to target various plants in Western Ukraine, particularly in the Lviv, Ternopil, and the Ivano-Frankivsk regions, as reported by the Kyiv Independent.

The extent of the damage from the attack is currently unclear, but reports indicate that approximately half of the Ternopil region was left without power, and equipment belonging to the DTEK civilian energy company was reportedly “damaged.”

Residents shelter at the subway station amid a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday.  (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Though according to open-source data presented by Estonian Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the nation’s Defense Forces (EDE), Ukrainian forces have also successfully repelled attacks levied by Russian forces on the Dontesk town of Kurakhove, some 35 miles south of Pokrovsk, despite Russian attempts to encircle the town.

“Russian occupiers are throwing all available forces forward, attempting to break through the defenses of our troops,” Ukrainian army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Facebook post late Wednesday. 

Pokrovsk remains a key defensive post for Ukraine in Donetsk, and its fall would not only compromise Kyiv’s access to supply routes, but its ability to continue to fend off Russia’s attempts to seize the entire region.

The increasing crunch Ukraine is feeling in Donetsk coincides with concerns over whether the U.S. will continue to aid Ukraine as the Trump administration is set to take office in late January. 

President-elect Trump has not said whether he will maintain the U.S.’ ongoing level of support for Ukraine, and in an interview with Time magazine released Thursday, he criticized Kyiv’s use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to hit targets in Russia. 

“Anything can happen. Anything can happen. It’s a very volatile situation,” Trump said of the war in Ukraine. “I think the most dangerous thing right now is what’s happening, where [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy has decided, with the approval of, I assume, [President Biden], to start shooting missiles into Russia. I think that’s a major escalation. I think it’s a foolish decision.”

Ukrainian soldiers with assault rifles are seen during training to counter Russian saboteur groups in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Thursday. (Maksym Kishka/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Biden in November relinquished his long-held opposition to Ukraine using U.S.-supplied missiles to hit military targets in Russia after years of pleas by Kyiv to do so.

Zelenskyy, along with other U.S. security experts, have long argued Ukraine should be able to attack Russia amid its yearslong deadly invasion, and that hitting weapons depots and Russian military positions used to launch massive missile and drone campaigns that target Ukrainian civilians is critical in turning the tide of the war.