Russia's attack on Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky: energy infrastructure important for the EU was attacked

In a video posted on social media, Zelensky referred to the attack on several Ukrainian oblasts, including Dnepropetrovsk, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk. Commander of the Air Force Ukraine Mykola Oleschuk reported that the air defense managed to shoot down 21 of 34 Russian missiles.

– The main target of the attack was the energy sector and its various facilities, both electricity and gas transmission facilities, Zelensky said. He added that in particular “the target of the attack was gas installations, which are key to ensuring safe supplies to the European Union.”

He said that energy engineers and teams of specialists are currently working in several districts, in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, to restore energy production and its distribution in facilities that were destroyed as a result of the Russian attack.

– It is very important that an attack like today's does not become routine for the world. I am grateful to all leaders who respond, who condemn Russian terror, who contact partners who have air defense systems that could operate in Ukraine and appropriate missiles, the Ukrainian president added.

Earlier on Saturday, DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, said in a statement that four thermal power plants had been hit. “The company's facilities were seriously damaged. Currently, employees are trying to remove the damage caused by the attack,” DTEK reported at the time.

Air raid alerts were announced in several Ukrainian regions on the night from Friday to Saturday, including: Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kirovograd and Dnipropetrovsk – reported the Ukraińska Pravda portal.

Ukraine has so far lost about 80 percent of its thermal energy production capacity and about 35 percent of its hydropower production, the country's authorities said.