The barrage was retaliation for Kiev’s continued attempts to damage Russian infrastructure, the Defense Ministry has said
FILE PHOTO: A MiG-31 jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile. © Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov
Russian forces have launched a barrage of long-range precision weapons at Ukrainian targets, the Defense Ministry confirmed in its daily briefing on Wednesday.
Ukrainian officials earlier reported that Russia had inflicted damage to the country’s energy infrastructure overnight.
The Russian side said some of its targets were military factories rather than parts of the Ukrainian power sector. The strike involved drones and several types of missiles, including air-launched hypersonic Kinzhal weapons, the statement said, adding that the projectiles successfully hit all the intended sites.
The air assault was described by the Russian military as retaliation for “attempts by the Kiev regime to cause damage to Russian energy facilities.” The attacks “significantly reduced Ukraine’s ability to manufacture military products and transport Western arms and military vehicles to the frontline,” the ministry said.
Ukraine escalated attacks deep inside Russia with long-range kamikaze drones in January. Senior military officials in Kiev claimed that they have “no choice” but to try and destroy oil refineries and other industrial sites, since Ukrainian forces on the frontline are being pushed back. That apparently prompted Moscow to add Ukrainian power plants to its list of targets.
READ MORE: Ukraine strikes oil facility in Donbass – authorities
The latest Russian strikes, according to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, involved over 50 missiles and 20 drones aimed at infrastructure targets. The Ukrainian military claimed it intercepted most of the weapons, but DTEK, a major private energy company, stated that several of its thermal power plants were damaged.
