- Kyiv says that its air defense is already insufficient and asks the West for more support.

Nurse Tatyana, 60, inspects a medical center damaged by attacks in the northern Kherson region of Ukraine.

Russia Steps Up Its 'Harass And Shoot Down' Against Ukraine With Another Massive Attack As War Heads For 10 Months

Another eighty missiles over Ukraine. This has been the new massive attack by Russia in its invasion: the ninth on a large scale in just three months, and essentially focused on critical infrastructure, because Vladimir Putin's goal continues to be to leave the Ukrainians without electricity so that winter is the one that at least begins to undermine their morale. In front, yes, Kyiv does not give in despite the pressure and the missiles and tries to obtain more military aid from its Western allies. The war has not changed much when it approaches ten months and Volodimir Zelenski warns that they are not going to surrender.

Moscow strikes on the energy front and the capital, Kyiv, is one of the places most affected by the attacks. The mayor, Vitali Klitschkó, ​​denounced that "Russia hit the left bank of the capital" in three districts. According to the spokesman for the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, Mikhaylo Samanov, "more than 40 missiles were detected near Kyiv, 37 of which were shot down", an attack that he described as the "largest since the beginning of the war ", on February 24.

For his part, the mayor of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, Ihor Terekhov, reported "colossal damage" to critical infrastructure. Maryna Shevchenko, a spokeswoman for Kharkivoblenergo, Kharkiv's electricity company, acknowledged that the city has been left "completely without electricity." Krivoy Rog, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, not only lost power but reported the loss of three civilians after a Russian missile hit a building. The governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, also reported thirteen wounded, including two children.

On the ground the advances are little, but Russia besieges by air and punishes the energy infrastructure. Thus, the state electricity company Ukrenergo stated that the Russian bombardment caused more than 50% of the country's electricity grid to be affected, a situation in which it declared a state of an energy emergency. "Considering that this is already the ninth wave of missile attacks against energy facilities, restoration of the power supply may take longer than before," the company warned.

In this way, he announced that he will prioritize the connection of hospitals, aqueducts, heating, and waste treatment plants. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko acknowledged that "there is damage to nine generation facilities, substations were also damaged, which restricted electricity production, especially nuclear generation." Ukraine assumes which way to go by the Kremlin. "The Russians are trying to destroy both the generation, distribution, and transmission facilities. This is another terrorist attack," he said. The government hopes to be able to restore supply "as soon as possible," he added.

"Ukraine still needs a lot to defend itself"

On the other hand, Kyiv insists that it needs more military and defensive support from the West to hold out for the next few months. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview with The Guardian that the effectiveness of anti-aircraft defense has increased to 80%. This Friday, 60 of the 76 air- and naval-based cruise missiles launched by Russia were shot down, according to the Air Force.

"A feature of the current attack was the launch of Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles not only from the Caspian Sea but also from the Saratov region, from the Engels airfield, the base of the Tu-95MS strategic bombers" that it was attacked eleven days ago by Ukrainian drones, he said. However, the Armed Forces affirm that the protection of the Ukrainian sky is still insufficient. "Although the means provided by our Western partners have strengthened the anti-aircraft defense in some areas of the front, Ukraine still needs a lot to defend itself," Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat said.

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