Kyiv, Ukraine

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Russia launched its second major attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this month on Thursday (Nov. 28), leaving over one million people without power across three western regions, according to Ukrainian officials.

"Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy's massive strike," Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko stated on Facebook. He added, "As soon as the security situation will allow it, the consequences [of the strikes] will be specified."

"In several regions, strikes with cluster munitions were recorded, and they targeted civilian infrastructure," Zelensky said on social media. "This is a very despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics," Zelensky added. 

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Andriy Yermak, Chief of Staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, condemned the attacks, accusing Russia of continuing its "tactics of terror." Yermak said on Telegram, "They stockpiled missiles for attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, for warfare against civilians during... winter," and assured that Ukraine would respond.

Emergency power cuts were introduced by the national grid operator Ukrenergo due to the strikes, according to Galushchenko. Private power company DTEK reported outages affecting the capital Kyiv, as well as Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions.

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Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been a frequent target since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kyiv has accused Moscow of using "terror" tactics by trying to plunge cities into darkness and cut off heating to civilians during winter.

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This latest wave of strikes follows weeks of intensified conflict, with both sides deploying new weapons to gain an advantage. Earlier this week, Russia vowed retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on its territory using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.

Ukraine has reportedly used these long-range missiles at least three times since receiving approval from Washington to target deeper into Russian territory. Following an initial strike, Moscow retaliated by launching a ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a public address, warned that nuclear-capable, intermediate-range missiles could be used against Western countries if their weapons were deployed by Ukraine to attack Russia.

Russia’s defence ministry reported on Thursday that it had intercepted 25 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 14 over the southern Krasnodar region. This escalation comes just a day after former US President Donald Trump appointed retired general and loyalist Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, tasked with negotiating an end to the Russian invasion.

(With inputs from agencies)