A Russian attack on an energy facility in Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv cut power to around 150,000 residents on Friday. Kyiv welcomed strikes of its own on a missile components plant in the Russian city of Kirov and on an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers away, while the European Union unveiled its largest sanctions package against Moscow in four years.
A Russian attack on an energy facility in Chernihiv and the surrounding district cut power to around 150,000 residents on Friday, according to the regional electricity distribution company. Workers were actively seeking to restore power supply to consumers in the area, the company said in a Telegram update.
Ukrainian air defenses were meanwhile working to repel a Russian attack on Kyiv on Friday morning, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Zelenskyy calls the Kirov strike justified
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed strikes by Ukrainian defense forces on a key missile components facility in the Russian city of Kirov, as well as an attack on an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers (838.9 miles) away. He said the Kirov facility supplied components for Russia’s aircraft and missile systems, describing the attack as “entirely justified” given that those same components had been used to target Ukrainian cities and communities.
Russian logistics hubs draw repeated strikes
Ukraine has targeted major logistics centers on Russian territory over the past week, including multiple attacks on facilities belonging to Wildberries, a retail giant that is often compared to Amazon. A Ukrainian drone strike on Wildberries logistics facilities in St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region on July 24 injured three people, according to local authorities.
The attacks signal a new phase in the more than four-year Russia-Ukraine war and appear designed to severely disrupt Moscow’s supply chains and increase the financial burden facing the country’s businesses and state budget.
EU sanctions hit banks, shadow fleet and refineries
Separately, the European Union on Thursday unveiled its largest sanctions package against Russia in four years, targeting almost 220 individuals and entities as it seeks to squeeze the country’s economy and its capacity to prolong its full-scale invasion. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the package hits over a hundred banks and crypto operators, more than 40 vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet, and several oil refineries in Russia and Belarus.
Kallas said Russia will only negotiate to end its illegal war and stop killing civilians if it is pressured to do so, adding that sanctions add to that pressure.
Sources: CNBC, Council of the EU
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