Russia attacks Ukraine’s power network in massive strike, says it disrupted weapons

Rescuers working to extinguish a fire following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region of Ukraine on Monday, 26 August. (Ukrainian emergency service via AFP)

• Russia said it had disrupted arms shipments through a massive strike on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure.
• Ukraine said the barrage had killed at least five people.
• One object entered Poland, where soldiers were still searching for it.

Russia said on Monday it had conducted a massive strike on Ukraine which it said had disrupted the electricity supply and the transport by rail of arms and ammunition to the front line.

Ukrainian officials said earlier on Monday that Russia had launched more than 100 missiles and around 100 attack drones at Ukraine during the morning rush hour, killing at least five people and striking energy facilities nationwide.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement it had fired missiles from the air and sea and that it had struck electricity substations in nine Ukrainian regions and gas compressor stations in three regions.

“This morning the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive strike with long-range air- and sea-based precision weapons, and with operational and tactical aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles against critical energy infrastructure facilities supporting the work of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex,” the ministry said.

In an apparent reference to F-16 jets supplied by the West, it said Russia had also struck storage facilities holding aircraft ammunition transferred to Kyiv by Western countries at two airfields.

“All designated targets were hit, resulting in disruption to the electricity supply and to the transport – by rail – of weapons and ammunition to the line of contact,” the statement said.

Poland incursion

Poland said that a drone had likely entered its airspace early on Monday morning during a Russian bombardment of Ukraine, adding that the object may have landed on Polish territory and that searches were underway.

The NATO-member has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck the Polish village of Przewodow in southern Poland killing two people in 2022.

“The object is being searched for by 100 soldiers on the ground and one helicopter,” said Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Polish army’s operational command.

He said it was impossible to say whether the object was Russian or Ukrainian as weather conditions had not allowed for visual identification.