Ukraine says Russian drones damage energy infrastructure in south

Attacks by Russian drones in southern Ukraine overnight caused a fire at an energy facility in Dnipropetrovsk and damaged critical infrastructure in Kherson, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday.

Ukraine forces shot down 16 out of 17 drones and one Kh-59 guided air missile that Russia used for the attack on Dnipropetrovsk, the Ukrainian military said via Telegram messaging app.

Drone debris caused a fire at the energy facility, which was not identified, with emergency services continuing to work on site, the military said. No casualties were reported by the military or local officials.

The overnight attack also damaged a critical infrastructure facility and seven private residences in Kherson region with no casualties reported, according to Kherson region governor Oleksandr Prokudin. No further details about the facility or the damage were immediately available.

[ ‘Soldiers on the energy front’ – Ukraine’s workers in high-risk race to repair bombed power grid ]

Since late March, Russia has launched multiple major attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, dealing significant damage to the Ukrainian power system and causing emergency power cuts in some regions.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday that its air defence forces had thwarted what it described as a series of attempted overnight “terrorist attacks” by Ukrainian drones on targets inside Russia.

It said in a statement that four Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region and one over Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

On Thursday, Ukraine’s parliament passed a controversial bill that will change the rules on civilian military mobilisation in an effort to address fledgling manpower among its forces.

The legislation, which must be signed by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is seen as crucial for Ukraine to address what military analysts say are major manpower problems as it fights a better armed and larger foe.

Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times in eastern regions, Ukraine’s Gen Yuriy Sodol told parliament on Thursday. “The enemy outnumbers us by 7-10 times, we lack manpower,” said Sodol, who is commanding the troops in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine on Thursday, officials said.

The major attack destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told Reuters.

The mass use of “drop-and-forget” guided bombs containing foreign components is driving Russian advances in Ukraine, with up to 500 now being fired a week, according to a Ukrainian government analysis. High explosive and cluster bombs fitted with “UMPC” guiding systems with a range of 40-60km (25-37 miles) are now said to be a central threat on the frontline, forcing back Ukrainian forces. - Reuters

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