Russia strikes critical infrastructure across Ukraine

Mayors and governors in three western Ukrainian regions – Rivne Oblast, Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Volyn Oblast – reported that energy infrastructure facilities have been hit by Russian missiles on the morning of Oct. 22.

Soon after, governors of the southern Odesa Oblast and central Kirovohrad Oblast also reported strikes on energy facilities.

Meanwhile, authorities in Kyiv Oblast and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast reported power outages.

The attacks continue Russia's most recent campaign to target civilian energy facilities across Ukraine. Having started on Oct. 10, the attacks have shut down 30% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Following the Oct. 22 attacks, repairs started in Rivne and Lutsk, according to local authorities.

Oleksandr Tretiak, mayor of Rivne, said that a critical infrastructure site was hit and iresidents of the surrounding areas were evacuated from their homes. No casualties have been reported yet.

Ihor Polishchuk, mayor of Lutsk, the capital of Volyn Oblast, reported that the Russian strike had hit an energy facility in the city, and part of Lutsk wascut off from electricity. He added that a residential building was also damaged due to the attack, and a civilian wounded.

Apart from electricity, the attacks shut down water supply in many of the targeted areas.

The Russian attacks cut electricity to over 1.4 million Ukrainian households on Oct. 22, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy chief of staff for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The attacks cut off power supplies to 672,000 households in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, 188,400 in Mykolaiv Oblast, 102,000 in Volyn Oblast, 242,000 in Cherkasy Oblast, 174,790 in Rivne Oblast, 61,913 in Kirovohrad Oblast, and 10,500 in Odesa Oblast, Tymoshenko said.

“The scale of the damage is comparable or may exceed the consequences of the attacks on Oct. 10-12,” state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo said in a Facebook post.

The company is trying to restore electricity as soon as possible in parts of the regions that are still cut off from electricity, according to Ukrenergo.

Ukrenergo also said that the Russian strikes had forced the company to impose electricity supply limitations across the country. This concerns Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kirovohrad oblasts, as well as the city of Kyiv.

Intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine infrastructure unlikely to achieve Kremlin's goals

The Kyiv Independent