Russian strikes kill 5, cut power in Ukraine; Zelensky blasts ‘zero real reaction’ from the world
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of a Russian strike in Lapoivka village near Lviv, in western Ukraine, on Oct 5.
PHOTO: EPA
Follow topic:
KYIV - Russian strikes on Oct 5 on Ukraine killed five people and badly damaged energy infrastructure, temporarily severing power supplies to tens of thousands and prompting neighbouring Poland to put ground defence on high alert.
Russia has stepped up strikes on energy networks
Russian forces fired 496 drones and 53 missiles at Ukraine, the majority of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian air force.
“Russians are not even trying to conceal their true intentions. The overwhelming majority of targets were civilian objects and ordinary infrastructure,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.
This was the largest attack of the war against the western region of Lviv, said its governor Maksym Kozytsky.
Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine and is hundreds of kilometres from the front line, has been largely spared the attacks that have hit cities farther east.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: “Near Lviv, an entire family of four was killed in their home, including a teenage girl.”
Emergency services released photos showing firefighters battling flames at a destroyed building, and helping elderly residents to safety.
The attacks also killed one person in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and wounded people near the eastern front, local authorities said.
Mr Zelensky said: “Russia is openly trying to destroy our civilian infrastructure right now, ahead of winter – our gas infrastructure, our power generation and transmission.”
He blasted what he called “zero real reaction from the world” and urged for more sanctions against Russia.
The strikes cut power to over 110,000 subscribers across several regions, Ukraine’s emergency services said, with the hardest hit being Zaporizhzhia.
‘Gas, heat and light’
More than 73,000 people in Zaporizhzhia were left without electricity, said regional head Ivan Fedorov, though power had fully been restored by the evening.
Ukraine’s state-run gas company Naftogaz network also reported damage to its network.
Naftogaz chief executive Sergii Koretskyi said in a statement: “These maniacal terrorist strikes are aimed solely at one thing – depriving Ukrainians of gas, heat, and light.”
The Russian army said it launched an attack “against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensured their operation”.
Russian attacks have also rattled Ukraine’s European allies after a spate of alleged Russian airspace violations into Europe.
Nato boosted its defences along its eastern borders throughout the month as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defences with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.
Overnight, Poland’s armed forces said on social media platform X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country’s airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.
Ukraine also said Russia was intensifying a campaign of air strikes on its railway network in an attempt to isolate front-line communities ahead of winter.
Russia launched drones at two passenger trains in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region on Oct 4, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian officials. AFP
