Western Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia Hit by Pre-Dawn Russian Missile Attacks

Russian cruise missile and drone attacks struck throughout western Ukraine overnight. Explosions were heard in Lutsk and Vinnystia, according to the Suspilne News Telegram channel. The Lviv, Zaporizhzhia and Ivano-Frankivsk regions were also hit.

Toward 3 a.m. local time, the Air Force of Ukraine issues a series of warnings as it tracked the routes of drones and missiles in Ukrainian airspace.

During the night missile attack, the Russian troops struck an energy facility in the Lviv Region, according to Ukrinform.

Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of the Lviv region, reported on his Telegram channel:

“The enemy launched a missile attack on a critical energy infrastructure facility in the Lviv region. A fire broke out. Firefighters are already working on the site,” the message says.

“Equipment at Ukrenergo facilities in Zaporizhzhia and Lviv regions was damaged,” the energy ministry said, adding that two employees were wounded and hospitalized in Zaporizhzhia, according to AFP.

Social media reports show a fire burning in the early morning hours in Stryi, a city 70 kilometers south of Lviv where several energy facilities are located.

Residential buildings and kindergartens in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk were also damaged during the missile attack, Ukrinform reported.

Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv reported on his in Telegram channel:

“Unfortunately, there is damage to housing and a kindergarten: the windows were broken there.”

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The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported that the enemy used 16 different types of missiles: 10 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles fired from Tu-95 MS aircraft in Russia’s Saratov region; 2 Iskander-K cruise missiles from Crimea; and 4 Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea;

The Russians also used 13 Shahed-type drones, all of which were shot down..

The AFU said they shot down a total of 25 air targets:7 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles; 4 Kalibr cruise missiles; 1 Iskander-K cruise missile, in addition to the 13 drones.

Poland announced at 4:50 a.m. local time, that it had scrambled military jets to protect Polish airspace during the Russian attack in western Ukraine.

Russia’s attacks are part of a concerted campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy producing capacity.

On Thursday June 20, Russian forces launched massive missile and drone strikes throughout Ukraine, targeting power facilities across four regions. The assault damaged infrastructure in Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Kyiv regions, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

A senior Ukrainian energy official recently warned that scheduled power outages and emergency blackouts would intensify over the coming weeks, after a string of Russian attacks crippled Ukrainian electricity generation.

“Over the next few weeks, the situation will be much tougher than it is today,” the head of national grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kydrytsky said in a June 16 interview.

Periods during which Ukrainians might not have power were likely to be extended by up to 12 hours per day and that outages could become more “stringent,” Kydrytsky said in the interview, broadcast on state media.

“This situation will continue until the end of July,” he added

Oleksandr Kharchenko, the chairman of the Center for Energy Research, noted that Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is currently operating at a critically low capacity, suggesting potential winter blackouts lasting up to 20 hours without light or heating under the worst conditions.