Russia, 70 missiles targeting energy facilities… power outage across Ukraine

Russian missile attacks on power and energy infrastructure in major Ukrainian cities caused power outages in Ukraine as well as neighboring Moldova. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack as terrorism and requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council.

According to the British Daily Guardian and others, Russia fired about 70 missiles at Ukraine on the 23rd. Of these, 51 were intercepted by air defense networks, but the rest fell on power facilities in major cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kiiu, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odessa, causing power outages in the whole or part of a city. It is believed that at least 10 people have been killed in the attack. Parts of Moldova, which borders Ukraine to the south-west, also suffered power cuts.

President Zelensky tweeted that day, “Killing civilians and destroying urban infrastructure is terrorism,” and requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council.

“Russia does not forgive the Tsar (Emperor) who lost the war, so President (Vladimir) Putin is very scared after giving back Kherson. He is fighting for his life right now,” the Times reported.

The United States criticized the struggling Russian military for deliberately launching a horrific attack to destroy energy production facilities. The White House National Security Council (NSC) noted in a statement that day, “The Russian attack is intended to increase the threat of a nuclear security accident that could affect not only Ukraine but the entire (European) region.” He noted that a Russian missile attack could hit the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

The White House emphasized that it had “announced an additional $400 million security assistance package, including advanced surface-to-air air defense missiles, to help Ukraine respond to urgent threats.” The package includes 150 anti-aircraft guns and advanced surface-to-air missile systems (NASAMS) for shooting down Iranian drones used by the Russian military in attacks, the Pentagon said.

Politico, a US political media outlet, reported on the same day that the Joe Biden administration said, citing officials from the US Department of Defense, that the Russian military could use chemical weapons before using nuclear weapons and begin a response. Chemical weapons such as the Novichok nerve agent, which was used in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, a political enemy of President Putin, can reportedly be used in actual combat. The Biden administration recently sent a Russian chemical weapons attack response team to Eastern Europe, Politico reported.

Paris = Reporter Cho Eun-ah achim@donga.com
Washington = Reporter Moon Byung-ki weappon@donga.com