Ukraine: massive Russian missile and drone attack

At least two people have died in Ukraine after Russia launched some 90 missiles and 60 explosive drones against the country's energy infrastructure in a massive attack on the night of Thursday March 21 to Friday March 22. Moscow is “ 

in a state of war

 ” in Ukraine, the Kremlin now recognizes.

A Gepard anti-aircraft defense tank (also nicknamed Flakpanzer) goes to the front in the kyiv region, March 21, 2024. AFP - GENYA SAVILOV

By: RFI with AFP

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 “

 There were more than 60 Shaheds and almost 90 missiles of different types 

,” listed Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky

on social networks on March 22, presenting his “ 

condolences to the families of those who were killed by this terror 

” . According to the Ukrainian president, the attacks targeted “ 

power plants, high voltage lines, a hydroelectric dam, residences and even a trolleybus

 ”. “

For the moment, there are two dead and at least eight injured in Khmelnytsky

 ” western region, indicated for its part the Ministry of the Interior, “ 

there are also six injured in Zaporizhia

,

three people are reported missing from the site of the attacks 

,” he further clarified.

Seven Ukrainian regions without electricity

Massive Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure led, this Friday, March 22 morning, to power cuts in at least seven regions of the country, said the Ukrainian operator Ukrenergo. “ 

Dozens of electrical installations were damaged. Emergency cuts in seven regions. The electricity system is receiving emergency assistance from three countries

 ,” this source said in a statement on Telegram, specifying that the “

 most difficult 

” situation concerned the regions of Kharkiv (east), Odessa (south), Kirovograd ( center) and Dnipropetrosvk (central-east).

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In addition, one of the two power lines supplying the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by Moscow, was cut by a bombing, also announced the Ukrainian Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko. “

This situation is extremely dangerous and threatens to trigger an emergency situation, because in the event of a disconnection of this last line of communication with the national electricity grid, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be on the verge of a new blackout -out 

,” warned Energoatom, the Ukrainian operator.

The Energy Minister called the nighttime bombing of the country "

the biggest attack on Ukraine's energy industry in recent times

 ." The Ukrainian president told him that

Russia

had targeted Kharkiv and its region, as well as the regions of Zaporizhia, Sumy (north), Poltava and Dnipro (center), Odessa (south), Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia and Frankivsk (west). The Ukrainian Air Force said that the anti-aircraft defense was able to shoot down 55 out of 63 Shaheds and 37 out of 88 missiles.

“ 

The Shaheds are not undecided, unlike some politicians 

,” quipped Mr. Zelensky

Mr. Zelensky was therefore once again annoyed by the slowness of Western assistance, while American aid has been blocked for months due to political rivalries between Republicans and Democrats and that of the EU has taken a significant delay. “

Russian missiles are not behind schedule, unlike aid packages to our country. The Shaheds are not undecided, unlike some politicians 

,” he quipped.

Russia had already launched a massive attack against Kiev at dawn on Thursday, the first since the beginning of February, but Ukraine

said

it had shot down around thirty missiles. Vladimir Putin had previously promised that he would take revenge for the increase in Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks affecting Russian territory, more than two years after he ordered the invasion of his neighbor. The Kremlin had long assured Russians that the war would not affect their daily lives or the country's territory, but with the Russian presidential election in mid-March these attacks have increased.

Pro-Ukraine fighters arrested

One person was killed and several others injured Friday morning in a strike on the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, the local governor said. The Russian Defense Ministry said it destroyed eight rockets fired by the Vampire rocket launcher system from Ukraine over this region on Friday morning. Furthermore, the Russian security services (FSB) announced on March 22 that they had arrested seven people in Moscow accused of being linked to a group of pro-Ukraine fighters, responsible for armed incursions into Russia in recent days. The suspects were allegedly in contact with the Russian Volunteer Corps, designated as a “

 terrorist organization

 ” by Moscow, in order to “ 

carry out violent actions against representatives of law enforcement, military personnel and foreigners 

,” the FSB said. , cited by Russian agencies, claiming to have prevented the creation of a “

 criminal group 

” in the capital.

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