1 of 3 | The Russian military launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine early Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without electrical power. Photo by Mykola Tys/EPA-EFE
Nov. 28 (UPI) — The Russian military launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine early Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without electrical power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes were retaliatory in nature and in response to Ukraine using American-made ATACMS missiles to hit targets inside Russia.
Over 1 million households were without power, according to Ukrainian officials, with temperatures holding at 30 degrees in Kyiv on Thursday night.
The strikes employed over 90 missiles and 100 drones, according to Russian officials, hitting some 17 targets mostly related to Ukraine’s electrical power grid.
Russia has previously attacked the Ukrainian power grid ahead of the frigid winter months in what analysts call attempts to demoralize the population.
Putin said Russia would now consider striking Ukrainian decision-making centers in future missile attacks.
Moscow has so far largely avoided hitting Ukrainian government hub buildings in Kyiv.
The Russian president also said Russia could potentially deploy its new nuclear-capable hypersonic missile against Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Russia tested its experimental Oreshnik hypersonic missile.
Russia’s test came just days after it said Ukraine used the American-made long-range ATACMS missiles to hit targets in the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine.
Ukraine used the missiles less than two days after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukrainian forces to use the weapons against targets inside Russia.
“As I have already said many times, there will always be a response from our side,” Putin said Thursday in Russia while meeting with members of former Soviet Union states.
“At present, the Ministry of Defense and the general staff are selecting targets to hit on Ukrainian territory. These could be military facilities, defense and industrial enterprises, or decision-making centers in Kyiv.”