By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – In a move that worries neighboring countries, Russia launched a massive air strike against western Ukraine on Friday in what Kyiv called “one of the largest attacks” on its power infrastructure since the war erupted in February 2022.
Moscow’s military fired almost 200 drones and more than 90 missiles, including at least one made by North Korea, 81 of which were intercepted, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.
The strikes forced Ukraine to reduce output at five of its nine nuclear reactors, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
According to Ukraine’s air force, hypersonic Kinzhal missiles were used in the attacks on the western regions of Ternopil, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zakarpattia.
The targets included thermal power plants of private energy group DTEK, with some equipment “significantly damaged,” the company said.
A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that four of the company’s thermal plants were damaged, and their condition is extremely fragile.
Worthy News monitored the attacks, which prompted nearby Poland to scramble fighter jets. Earlier, Hungary increased defense systems along its borders with Ukraine. Poland and Hungary are both members of the NATO military alliance.
LATEST STRIKES
Ahead of the latest Russian strikes, Hungary’s Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that “the Russian-Ukrainian war has entered its most dangerous phase yet.”
However, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that the strikes were in response to Kyiv using six US-made
ATACMS long-range missiles will hit a military airfield in Russia’s Rostov region on Wednesday.
Critics countered that Moscow’s forces have been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the autumn of 2022, well before Ukraine received long-range missiles from the U.S.
The latest assault came as temperatures plunged across Ukraine, with -1O Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) expected in Kyiv, the capital.
“Hypersonic Kinzhal missiles were used” in strikes that focused on the western regions of Ternopil, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zakarpattia, according to Ukraine’s air force.
“The targets included thermal power plants of private energy group DTEK, with some equipment significantly damaged,” the company said. “Four of the firm’s company’s thermal plants were damaged, and their condition is extremely fragile,” added an official on conditions of anonymity.
Hungary, which currently holds the rotating European Union presidency, still hopes to help reach a Christmas truce in Ukraine, officials said. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk seeks to relaunch peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv as his nation will take over the EU presidency.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Fires in Los Angeles, America’s second-largest city, and other areas in the U.S. state of California have killed at least 10 people while hundreds of homes were destroyed, officials said.
Nearly 400 Christian leaders and 30 church groups have urged India’s government to defend the Christian minority after hundreds of attacks against Christians, including more than a dozen around Christmas.
Egyptian Archaeologists on Wednesday announced the remarkable discovery of 3,600-year-old rock-cut tombs and artifacts during an excavation on the west bank of the Nile near the historic city of Luxor in Upper Egypt, The Media Line (TML) reports. With origins in ancient times, Luxor has been described as the “world’s greatest open-air museum.”
Christians in Nigeria’s Plateau state have been warned to spend the next few weeks on high alert against attacks by Fulani radicalized Islamic herdsmen as three more believers were murdered on Monday (January 6), bringing the number of such killings to 11 since early December, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Political rivals united in grief Thursday as they attended Jimmy Carter’s state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington before the 39th president’s final journey back to Georgia for burial.
An Iranian top commander for Syria has, for the first time, publicly admitted that Iran suffered “a major defeat” with the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Tehran.
A U.S. federal judge has blocked an attempt by outgoing President Joe Biden to redefine the meaning of sex as “gender identity” in Title IX, a law to create “equal opportunities” for women and girls in education and athletics.