(Kyiv) The United States will now prioritize Ukraine in the delivery of missiles for air defense, as the country is suffering “massive” Russian strikes on its energy facilities which are causing growing electricity shortages.
Faced with this situation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Thursday to install solar panels and energy storage units “in every school and in every hospital, as soon as possible.” “Regional military administrations have been tasked with overseeing these measures at the local level,” he added.
The previous night, a power plant and other infrastructure were damaged by a major Russian attack that left seven employees injured, according to Ukrainian authorities.
It was the seventh “massive” attack on such sites in three months, operator DTEK lamented, forcing frequent power cuts to be imposed.
In this context, Washington has “made the difficult but necessary decision” to now prioritize Ukraine over other allies in the supply of missiles used for anti-aircraft defense.
As a result, exports to other countries of Patriot and NASAMS missiles in particular will be “delayed,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby explained Thursday, saying the move “would not affect Taiwan.”
A few hours earlier, Romania had promised Kyiv a Patriot system.
“I am deeply grateful” to American President Joe Biden, reacted Volodymyr Zelensky, who also thanked Bucharest, repeating that “we need (these weapons) so much to respond to Russian attacks”.
At the same time, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin, visiting Vietnam, warned that South Korea’s direct arms shipment to Ukraine would be a “very serious mistake,” threatening Seoul with retaliatory measures in the event of a decision in this direction and confiding “not to rule out” the possibility of sending weapons to North Korea.
“The Russians attacked one of DTEK’s thermal power plants,” the company said in a statement Thursday, adding that three of its employees were injured by these nighttime strikes which caused “serious damage.”
The Energy Ministry said “a number” of energy installations had been targeted in four regions, including Kyiv.
In total, “seven employees were injured”, one of whom is in serious condition, he continued, mentioning “destroyed” equipment, without giving further details.
A technician was also injured when his team, working on a power line in the eastern Donetsk region, came “under fire” from Russia, the same source added.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday claimed responsibility for a “grouped strike” against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ensuring that “all” targets had been hit and that it was a “response” to bombings of similar Russian sites.
Russia, by increasing this type of operation, has destroyed half of Ukraine’s energy capacity, said Mr. Zelensky.
DTEK Director General Maxim Timchenko warned of the risk that Ukraine would “face a serious crisis this winter” if its Western partners did not mobilize to help it rebuild its electricity network, a project which requires significant investments.
In Russia, several oil depots were targeted by Ukrainian drones during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, as well as the town of Slaviansk-on-Kuban, in the Krasnodar region (southwest), where a woman lost his life, according to the regional governor, Veniamin Kondratiev.
A fire broke out at an oil refinery in the republic of Adygea (southwest) “following a drone attack”, announced Governor Mourat Koumpilov.
A tank also caught fire Thursday morning at a major oil refinery in Platonovka, in the Tambov region (center), “probably” because of a drone, Governor Maxim Egorov admitted.
The Ukrainian security services (SBU) are behind the attacks on the two refineries, a source within the SBU told AFP.
These facilities “processed and stored raw materials and finished products that were then used by the Russian military,” according to the source, who predicted more attacks of this type in the future.
Russia continues to bomb regions close to the front line in southern and eastern Ukraine, causing several deaths and injuries, particularly in the Donetsk region, where fighting is very intense.
