Kyiv, Dec 13 (IANS) Explosions were heard all over Ukraine on Friday morning as Russia launched a large-scale missile attack on its energy infrastructure, Ukrainian media reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that preliminary reports showed 93 missiles and almost 200 drones were launched against Ukraine in “one of the largest strikes on our energy sector.”
Explosions sounded in the northern Kyiv region, the southern Odesa region, and the western regions of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, reported Xinhua, quoting the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Ukraine’s state-run energy company, Ukrenergo, announced plans to toughen power supply restrictions in the wake of the attack.
Russia’s defence ministry said the massive strike, which involved high-precision long-range air- and sea-based weapons and drones, was in response to Ukraine’s attack on its territory with US-made missiles.
Earlier on Wednesday, the ministry said Ukrainian forces used six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles to attack the Taganrog military airfield in Russia’s Rostov region. Moscow had vowed to respond with “appropriate measures.”
In a major shift of policy on the Ukraine crisis, the United States in November authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia, triggering an escalation of tension around the conflict.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced another tranche of weapons worth $500 million to Ukraine.
According to a statement from the US Department of Defense, the latest military assistance to Ukraine is the 72nd time Biden has used his executive authority to approve the fund since August 2021.
Weapons in the latest tranche included air defence capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons, among others.
Earlier in the day, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the US National Security Council, told a daily press briefing at the White House that the Biden administration, with just weeks remaining in office, will “continue to provide additional packages right up until the end of this administration.”
President-elect Donald Trump, who will take over the White House on January 20, said in an interview aired on NBC News on Sunday that Ukraine “probably” should prepare for reduced American aid when his administration is sworn into office.
Trump said he considered it unfair that the United States spent more than triple the amount of money that European nations spent on supporting Ukraine.
“Why isn’t Europe in for the same as us?” Trump said. “The one thing that should happen is that Europe should come in for — they should equalise.”
–IANS
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