Russia massively attacked Ukraine on August 26 with drones and missiles. A massive air attack struck 15 regions of Ukraine, causing damage to energy facilities and residential buildings, as well as civilian deaths and injuries.
The national operator, Ukrenergo, has introduced emergency blackouts as part of its efforts to stabilize the system. Ukrainian officials, including the prime minister and energy minister, condemned the latest Russian attack and are taking steps to restore infrastructure and provide aid to the victims.
Russia launched at least 127 missiles and 109 drones over Ukraine on August 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Massive Russian air strikes on August 26
In Kyiv, Odesa, and several other Ukrainian cities, there were problems with electricity and water supplies, and our air defense was operating in a number of regions. The massive Russian attack that day affected 15 regions, according to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Channel 24 reported.
“The enemy used various types of weapons: attack drones, cruise missiles, and supersonic daggers. There are wounded and dead. My sincere condolences to the families and friends,” Shmyhal wrote.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister stated that Russian troops have once again targeted the energy infrastructure. “Unfortunately, there are damages in a number of regions,” he said.
The air alert began to spread across Ukrainian regions at 02:05 local time, when the Air Force warned of the movement of the Shahedin towards the Poltava region. The air alert map was then extended to the western Rivne and Lviv regions.
The Air Force reported 11 Tu-95MS aircraft in Russian airspace at 04:43. Subsequently, Russian bombers launched cruise missiles toward Ukraine. The air alert lasted until 11 a.m. in all regions of Ukraine.
Russian Shahed drones attacked the capital Kyiv at night, accompanied by loud explosions. In the morning, the Russians attacked Kyiv with cruise missiles.
There were also explosions in Kryvyi Rih, which caused problems with electricity and water supply. In the center of the country, Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky the were explosions at night and again in the morning.
Local authorities in Odesa, in the south, confirmed that there were explosions during Russian attacks at night and in the morning.
Local authorities in Lviv, in the west, also reported explosions in the city and in the Lviv region. Other western regions such as Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Volyn also heard explosions. In Lutsk, a Russian attack drone destroyed an apartment building.
Local authorities and media in Kharkiv, in the east, also reported a series of explosions during a Russian air attack.
Emergency blackouts, issues with electricity and water supply
Due to the Russian attack on the morning of August 26, Ukraine has had emergency blackouts across the country. Therefore, the previously announced standard outage schedules (caused by Russian air attacks on energy infrastructure during previous months) were currently not in effect.
Many cities have experienced power outages, including Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr, and Lviv. There were water supply problems in several regions, including the Chernihiv region, the Khmelnytsky region, and several districts of Kyiv. Lutsk also reported problems with water supply.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the main target of the complex, combined attack by all these numerous cruise, ballistic, and aerial ballistic missiles and attack drones of the Russian Federation, was energy infrastructure.
