Dozens of drones were also used in the attack, which comes as both Moscow and Kyiv maneuver ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House in January. Later yesterday, Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov praised Trump, saying the US president-elect's criticism of Ukrainian strikes inside Russia "impresses us".
The alignment on the strikes between Trump and the Kremlin will cause alarm in Ukraine, where there is hope that Trump may prove surprisingly amenable to continuing US military aid to the country, but also fear that his history of pro-Russian rhetoric could see Kyiv forced to sign an unfavorable deal.
Russia has been systematically targeting Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure in recent months, in a bid to sow chaos ahead of winter, with temperatures due to drop well below zero in most of Ukraine in the coming days.
The energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said energy workers were doing everything possible to "minimize negative consequences" for the energy system.
This story is from the December 14, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 14, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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