Kyiv:

90 missiles and 100 drones is what Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight with. Currently, more than one million people are without electricity as bitter winter hits with Russia’s “massive strike”.

This is the 11th large-scale attack by Russia on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this year causing blackouts nationwide.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of “weaponising winter” and stockpiling missiles to launch pre-winter aerial campaigns in Ukraine. “They were helped by their crazy allies, including from North Korea,” Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office wrote in a Telegram post.

At least 5 people were injured, one person in central Vinnytsia, two in Odesa and two in Kyiv. Residents took shelter in metro stations as the air raid alert continued for 9 hours. Around 215,000 households were temporarily without power as stated by authorities.

“Power engineers are working to ensure backup power supply schemes where possible. They have already started restoration work where the security situation allows,” the Ministry of Energy said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said this is a response to Ukraine’s attacks with UK and US supplied weapons.

As stated by Ukraine’s president Vlodymyr Zelenskyy, cluster munitions were particularly used against civilians and energy infrastructure. He has called the attack out as a “very mean escalation” in the conflict.

“I have a power bank for charging my phone, but I did not buy a more powerful station because I did not take it seriously that there would be such attacks and that missiles would reach us. But it did reach us,” Valeriy Dorotiy, a resident of Lutsk, told CNN.

Roman Turiy, a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk said that, “I expected to be without power for three hours, but according to the new schedule, it looks like we will be without electricity for eight hours today” adding that every winter is getting harder in Ukraine.

Zelensky urged allies for help regarding air defence systems saying that attacks like this prove that the systems save lives.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said that its plants had been attacked more than 190 times since the start of the conflict as per BBC.

Speaking of Russian arms capabilities, Putin said “Let no one forget about the Kalibr systems, the Kinzhal and Tsirkon hypersonic missile systems that are in our arsenal, which have no analogues in the world in terms of their characteristics.” He added that their production is being increased in full swing and that the Ukrainian leaders are “begging their masters for other military equipment”.

Putin declared that Russia reserves the right to attack military targets in countries that permit their weapons to be used against Russia.
 

NATO pledged support for Ukraine at talks in Brussels Tuesday after Russia’s attempt to “intimidate” Kyiv’s backers by firing an experimental hypersonic intermediate-range missile last week. 

Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro which President Vladimir Putin said was a test of its new Oreshnik missile.

Putin said the missile attack was in response to Ukraine firing weapons supplied by the United States and Britain into Russia.

The Kremlin leader warned that Moscow felt “entitled” to hit military facilities in countries that allow Ukraine to use their weapons against Russia. 

“During the meeting, NATO allies reaffirmed their support for Ukraine,” the alliance said in a statement after the talks.  

“The attack, which targeted Dnipro, is seen as another attempt by Russia to terrorise the civilian population in Ukraine and intimidate those who support Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked aggression.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called the strike “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed for updated air-defence systems to meet the new threat.

Kyiv called for “concrete and meaningful outcomes” after calling the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. 

A NATO official said Ukraine identified air defence systems that it needs to try to counter the new missile threat from Moscow ahead of a gathering of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels next week. 

Some allies hinted that they could make announcements at the meeting next week on fresh air defences for Kyiv, the official said. 

The escalating tensions over Ukraine come as questions hang over the future of Western support following the re-election of Donald Trump in main NATO power the United States. 

Moscow on Tuesday pledged “retaliatory actions” to fresh Ukrainian air attacks inside Russia using US-supplied ATACMS missiles. 

In a rare admission, Russia said the fresh strikes had caused damage to military hardware and wounded some of its personnel on the ground in the Kursk region.

Trump has cast doubt on maintaining Washington’s vast military aid for Kyiv and pledged a quick deal to end the war.  

On the battlefield, Ukraine’s fatigued troops are struggling to halt advances by Russian forces in the east of the country. 

NATO and Ukraine established the joint council in 2023 that allows Kyiv to call meetings with the alliance when it sees fit.
 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The US had never approved Kyiv to use long-range missiles in Russia, until now.

The Biden administration has made a significant policy change, allowing Ukraine to use US-made ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia for the first time.

This decision comes just two months before President Joe Biden hands over power to Donald Trump, who has expressed scepticism about US military aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine has been using ATACMS missiles against Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory for over a year, but the US had previously prohibited their use inside Russia due to concerns about escalating the conflict.

“It would substantially change the very essence, the nature of the conflict. This will mean that Nato countries, the USA and European states, are fighting with Russia”, Putin had said in September.

However, the recent deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia in the Kursk border region has prompted the policy change.

The Lockheed Martin ballistic missiles are some of the most powerful missiles provided to Ukraine, with a range of up to 300km (186 miles), and will likely be used to defend against Russian and North Korean troops in the Kursk region, targeting military bases, infrastructure, and ammunition storage.

Officials from both the countries – Ukraine and US expect a counter-offensive by Russia and North Korea to regain the Kursk territory.

While the supply of missiles may not be enough to turn the tide of the war, they could grant Ukraine an advantage at a time when Russian troops are gaining ground in the country’s east.

Western diplomats have welcomed the decision as an “overdue symbolic move” to demonstrate military support for Ukraine, but caution that it may not be decisive.

“The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning,” Andrei Klishas, a Senator of the Russian Federation said.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, also a Senator of the Russian Federation, has said that this is a “very big step” towards World War Three.

Donald Trump’s stance on the issue remains unclear, with some of his officials advocating for continued aid to Ukraine while others suggest cutting off support.

His son, Donald Trump Jr, wrote this on social media, “The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War Three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.”

National Security Adviser Michael Waltz says that Trump might accelerate the delivery of weapons to Ukraine to get Russia to negotiate. Since the president-elect had a goal of resolving the conflict within a day, this might support his plan.

However, JD Vance, Vice President elect said “we’ve done more than our fair share” during a speech in May. “I do not think that it is in America’s interest to continue to fund an effectively never-ending war in Ukraine,” he added.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation, the US has allocated 56.799 billion euros as military help as of October 2024 and stands as the greatest supplier of arms to Ukraine.