Russia targets Ukraine’s gas-producing facilities in new wave of attacks
On the morning of November 17, Russia launched another wave of missile attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted four cruise missile and five Iranian-made Shahed drones in the air above Kyiv, the Kyiv city military administration said.
During a morning attack on Dnipro, Russian missiles hit two energy infrastructure facilities. At least 14 people were injured, including a 15-year-old girl. Another missile reportedly hit a target in Odesa region.
Russia struck Ukraine’s gas-producing facilities and Pivdenmash machinery plant in Dnipro, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said. Gas-producing facilities of Ukrgazvydobuvannya were subjected to a Russian attack on Thursday, head of Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz Oleksiy Chernyshov said.
Some of the sites were destroyed and damaged. The State Emergency Service extinguished the fire. No casualty report was immediately available.
Massive damage to Ukraine’s power grid caused by Russian missile strikes on November 15 and November 17 will likely cause days-long power outages, executive director of DTEK energy company Dmytro Sakharuk said.
“There may be no electricity for days. Unfortunately, we’ll now talk not about planned power outages, but about scheduled power supply in a large number of regions. Unfortunately, there will be power supply for a small number of hours, two-three hours a day,” Sakharuk told the ICTV news channel.
Russians have caused very serious damage to substations that transmit electricity from one district to another, through which many regions in the center and west are supplied, Sakharuk said. One of the company’s thermal power plants shut down after it had been hit by a Russian missile on November 15.
Power supply was restored to consumers, where possible. On some of the sites, repair works were not immediately possible, Sakharuk said.
Russia rejects “public talks” with Ukraine
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s suggestion of holding public talks with Russia.
The Ukrainian President made a suggestion responding to a signal from Ukraine’s western allies that Putin is ready to negotiate following his military defeat in the south. “I was getting signals that Putin wants direct talks. I offered public talks, as Russia is waging a public war,” Zelenskyi told Ukrainian journalists on Wednesday.
Russia will not accept the format of the talks, Peskov said. Russia began to press for the talks following its humiliating defeat in Kherson resulting from Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Addressing the G20 Bali summit via videolink, President Zelenskyi laid out a peace plan that Russia called “unrealistic”.
Ukraine to take part in investigation into missile that fell in Poland
Ukrainian experts will take part in the investigation into a missile that fell in Poland, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Thursday, speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum conference.
“Yesterday we received confirmation that our experts will take part in the investigation. Until the investigation is complete, we cannot say for sure which missiles or their parts fell in Poland. We saw the diameter of the missile crater on pictures. It’s unlikely that just parts of an anti-missile system caused the impact,” Zelenskyi said.
A Polish-American investigating team is on site, Polish Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Polish President Jakub Kumoch earlier said. The Ukrainians asked for access to the site, he added.
How Ukraine plays sports during war. Ukraine in Flames #252
President of the Sport Committee of Ukraine Illia Shevliak, Ukrainian football journalist Andrew Todos, and CEO of ReD Foxes dance group Olena Rozhkova explain how Ukrainian sport has adapted to the war realities.
