The barrage of Russian strikes across Ukraine has had a “widespread impact” on the power grid, a senior U.S. military official said.
The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity Monday afternoon, declined to provide percentages regarding the damage and noted that the department is still gathering information on the latest strikes that took place on Monday.
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“In terms of the infrastructure, by virtue of the electrical grid being impacted, we are seeing impacts in terms of water supply systems, water treatment, things like that, which is affecting access to water among the civilian population,” the official added.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said there had been strikes on 18 targets in 10 regions, making it the most significant and widespread missile campaign since a barrage roughly two weeks ago, according to the Washington Post.
DOD officials could not provide information about the latest strikes but spoke broadly about what they had seen recently.
“We’re still kind of gathering information on the latest strikes,” a senior defense official added. “And I don’t have anything more than what you’re seeing in media reporting regarding the most recent strikes. When it comes to the question of the power grid and repairs for Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. I can tell you that that is a topic that we’re talking a lot about inside of the U.S. government.”
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Monday’s barrage came in response to an incident this weekend in which Ukrainian drones swarmed Russian warships in the port of Sevastopol, which is in Russian-occupied Crimea. The defense officials did not provide additional information regarding the attack.
Over the last couple weeks, Russian forces have repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid, which they argue are legitimate military targets, despite that there are parts of the country where civilians are without power or water as a result.
