Afrasianet - Moscow -  Russia launched  its first strong reaction to the incursion of Ukrainian forces into Kursk on August 6, August with a large-scale attack on energy facilities in about 15 cities in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had carried out large-scale strikes with high-precision weapons on vital energy infrastructure facilities that ensure the functioning of Ukraine's military-industrial complex, and confirmed that all identified targets were hit.

According to Russian media, part of the Ukraine remained without electricity and water, and the broadcast was cut off from the studios of some local channels in the capital, Kiev,  where power and water supplies were cut off in several areas after being subjected to about 10 rocket attacks.

In Dnepropetrovsk, electrically powered transport has stopped working, and power has been cut off in Lviv, which is also experiencing problems with water supply as substations switch to backup power.

Critical infrastructure in Vinnytsa was damaged by a series of airstrikes, industrial facilities in Poltava were damaged, power was cut off in a number of areas, with explosions reported at infrastructure facilities in Zhytomyr, Odessa, Khmelnitsky, Krevoy Rogue, Zaporozhia, Kherson and Kharkiv.

The Russian Defense Ministry statement did not clarify the type of weapons that were used in the expanded attack, but the "Voinoye Abuzriny" website, which specializes in military affairs, stated that the S-300 and S-400 air defense systems were used, noting that they were the most effective in the attack, in addition to strategic bombers and ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and tactical missile systems "Iskander-M".

According to Ukrainian sources, about 40 cruise missiles and about 100 drones participated in today's attack, making it one of the largest special operations since the outbreak of war between the two countries, while Russian Telegram channels reported that at least 65 explosions were recorded in Ukrainian territory during the strikes.

Strategic affairs expert Arkady Semipratov describes the Russian attack as one of the worst in two and a half years for Ukraine, which he said could not neutralize 95% of all ballistic missiles fired by Russia.

He added  that the F-16 fighter jets did not fly to participate in repelling the attack, but because the Ukrainian Air Force Command tried to keep them away from the attack in this way.

The spokesman considers that the strike was "extraordinary" intensive and the attack was complex, given the accuracy of hitting the targets, and likely the participation of long-range grenade launchers and strategic missile carriers to launch missile attacks, including the "Kh-101" missile, which weighs 400 kilograms and can have a range of up to 2,800 kilometers.

Regarding the use of hypersonic missiles in the attack, he explained that the reasons for this are to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the operation, because they are capable of flying in the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, their ability to maneuver using aerodynamic forces, and the fact that they combine the advantages of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

Russian defense identifies targets it hit in Ukraine

In turn,  the Russian Defense Ministry announced in a statement the targeting of power and gas plants, weapons stores and military infrastructure in several Ukrainian provinces.

"This morning, the Russian armed forces launched a large-scale strike using high-precision long-range air and naval weapons on  infrastructure and energy facilities critical to the work of the military-industrial complex in Ukraine,"  the statement said.

Sirens sound in several Ukrainian provinces and huge explosions in Odessa

"The targets of the strike were electrical substations in the Kiev, Vinnytsia, Zhytomir, Khmelnitsky, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Nikolaev, Kirovograd and Odessa regions," the statement added.

"Gas compressor stations were also targeted in the Lvov, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkov regions, which provide the work of the gas transmission system in Ukraine, in addition, the storage sites of air weapons delivered by Western countries to Kiev at Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk airports were also destroyed."

"All identified targets were hit, leading to power outages and disruption of the transport of weapons and ammunition by rail to the contact line," the statement said.

The Russian armed forces began launching attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure before on October 10, 2022, two days after the Ukrainian terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, and Russian strikes have since targeted energy facilities, defense industry, military command and communications throughout the Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg sources, several Western countries have yet to deliver the military equipment promised by Ukraine at the July July NATO summit in Washington. They were supposed to send at least five long-range air defense batteries and dozens of shorter-range air defense systems.

After the attack on the Kursk region, Vladimir Zelensky reminded his Western allies once again of the need for supplies.

But Bloomberg sources noted that the appeal was pointless, and ruled out that NATO countries will keep their promises until the fall. And then it will be too late, because Russia is intensifying its missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukraine's weak air defense can do little about it.

"The West itself needs air defense systems, especially the Patriots. This is a fairly unique product. They understand that if they give what they have to Ukraine for free, they will later have to buy a replacement from the Americans."

As for the effectiveness of the Patriot, it is rather weak. You do not see targets flying at an altitude of up to 100 meters. The Patriot launches anti-missile missiles at an angle above the horizon. It needs four missiles to protect one location, one in each direction. And this is four times more expensive. In our country, missiles of almost all air defense systems fly straight and head towards the target in weather, in which case we are content with one air defense battery. Therefore, it should not be said that Equipping Ukraine with Patriot missiles will save it."

International affairs writer Sergei Bersanov said the operation carries a military dimension related to the response to the incursion into Kursk, and politically after the subject of negotiations with Ukraine lost its importance and feasibility.

He added that in light of these developments, and given the acceleration of events in the Middle East and the possibility of Russia entering the military frontline there in the event of an outbreak, the time factor has become urgent to achieve a balanced military achievement that pushes the Ukraine to submit to the Russian conditions for settlement and neutralizes the role of Western weapons in the conflict with it, especially since Kiev itself interpreted its invasion of Kursk as improving future negotiating positions.

Regarding Ukrainian statements that the  Wagner group participated in the operation, he explained that it is an attempt to involve Belarusin the recent developments in the war and justify the military build-up on the border with it, noting that Wagner is not currently operating on Ukrainian territory, but only in Belarus and Africa .

The Washington Post had previously reported that two delegations - Russia and Ukraine - planned to meet in Qatar  to reach a mutual understanding on a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict, and also agree not to attack their respective energy facilities for two months, but the process of preparing for the meeting was disrupted by the ground incursion by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.

However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that there are not and are not negotiations in this regard at the moment.

Did the missiles bomb F-16 fighter jets in their positions? .. Details of Russia's latest strike on Ukraine revealed

Meanwhile, the pro-Russian underground resistance said in Ukraine that among the targets of the Russian missile attack on Monday was a site where some of the F-16s that the West recently provided to Kiev may have been hidden.

Speaking to Novosti, Nikolaev resistance coordinator Sergei Lebedev, quoting his comrades-in-arms, said the Russian army's strikes targeted a number of military sites and energy infrastructure.

He noted that in Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine "a hangar with recently brought military equipment was hit," adding that according to resistance information, two F-16s  had been hidden in Ivano-Frankivsk, and that "the explosion occurred in the direction (of their possible storage site), the details of which we will know later."

It is noteworthy that Vladimir Zelensky announced earlier this month that Ukraine received the first batch of US-made F-16 fighter jets  from Western allies, while Moscow confirmed that these aircraft will have no significant impact on the front and will not help the Kiev regime, and that the Russian army will shoot them down and destroy them.

Lebedev added that explosions in Ivano-Frankivsk are continuing and that resistance sources reported that containers containing fuel and lubricants were hit, where black smoke was seen rising into the sky.

Ukrainian media: explosions in separate Ukrainian regions as a result of intensive missile strikes by the Russian army

Lebedev also spoke of "a rocket landing in the area of a training field in Ternopol (west), where the resistance reported a strong explosion," adding that it was difficult to say for sure whether the hit site was a warehouse or a power substation, but the wave of the explosion was strong, and a fire was seen.

In Poltava, a Russian strike targeted a distribution center for units of the Ukrainian armed forces to various axes of fighting.

There have been frequent explosions across the Ukraine and a massive missile strike by the Russian military on Ukraine's military sites, energy facilities and defence industries has led to power and water cuts in most regions of the Ukraine.

Kiev admits significant damage to energy system in 'one of Russia's most powerful strikes'

 Vladimir Zelensky described the attack by the Russian military on Monday morning as "one of the most severe" of its kind, saying it had caused "significant damage" to Ukraine's energy sector.

Zelenskiy said in a video address that the "complex" attack was carried out using more than a hundred missiles of various types and about a hundred drones.

After talking about the effects of the strike, Zelenskiy renewed his call for the United States, Britain, France and other partners to "take decisions" so that "there are no restrictions on Ukraine's weapons and their range."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmegal noted that Russia's intensified strike this morning hit 15 Ukrainian provinces and focused on energy sites.

He confirmed in a Telegram statement that energy facilities in several areas were damaged, without giving details about these facilities and their locations.

Schmigal also noted that the national energy company Ukrainergo had to cut off electricity on an emergency basis in most parts of the country in order to stabilize the power system.

The official Ukrainian agency "Unyan" confirmed that the Kiev hydroelectric power station suffered "serious" damage as a result of the explosions that occurred, noting that the damage affected the hydroelectric dam road and the station's turbine room.

On Monday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces launched a large-scale attack on the vital energy infrastructure facilities used by Ukraine's military-industrial complex.