National grid operator Ukrenergo said equipment at its facilities in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and Lviv in the west had been damaged in the second large Russian air attack this week. Two workers in Zaporizhzhia were taken to hospital for treatment, it said.
The Russian strikes also hit a gas infrastructure facility in the west of the country, Reuters reported citing the energy ministry.
"After eight massive attacks by the enemy on the power system since March, the situation in the energy sector remains difficult," it added in a statement.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had used long-range missiles fired from aircraft and ships, and drones, to strike ammunition depots and energy facilities that it said supported military production.
Ukraine's navy said it was the first time had launched missiles from the Sea of Azov rather than the Black Sea.
"This is an important turning point, because they use it, considering it a safer water area than the Black Sea," Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told local television.
Moscow has said airstrikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure were in retaliation for Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory.
Since March, Russian forces have intensified their bombardments of Ukraine's power system, knocking out about half of the country's available generating capacity and causing an energy crunch that has led to increasingly frequent blackouts.
In the capital Kyiv and other cities, the hum of private generators can be heard constantly despite lower levels of electricity consumption during the summer.
SD/PR
Your Comment