MOSCOW (Dispatches) - Russia has warned that it is preparing “massive strikes” on Ukraine’s energy sector, describing the move as a direct response to Kiev’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that Russian forces have begun preparations for a large-scale attack on Ukrainian energy facilities.
In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said the planned operation is a tit-for-tat response to “ongoing attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure and on Russia’s oil and energy complex.”
The warning comes after months of escalating long-range strikes by both sides. Warehouses, businesses, oil and port facilities, and ships have all been targeted, with civilian casualties rising.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a similar warning last week. He said Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure had opened a “Pandora’s box,” and that Moscow would hit Ukraine’s most sensitive economic sectors.
“The Kyiv regime set out to damage our economy. What did it do? It opened this Pandora’s box itself,” Putin said in remarks published last week. “Expect a response targeting your most sensitive economic sectors.”
He added that Moscow remains open to ending the conflict through negotiations, but said any talks between Moscow and Kyiv must take into account the “realities on the ground.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that the death toll from a Russian strike on an ammunition depot in Ukraine’s Kyiv region has risen to 38 and the search continues for four people who are still missing.
The deadliest Russian strike in the Kyiv area this year took place late on Friday as Moscow launched an intense campaign of attacks on the Ukrainian capital, which has continued over the weekend.
Friday’s blast hit a military facility that held artillery shells, mines, drones and other ammunition.
Zelenskiy said on Telegram that first responders had managed to extinguish most of the fires. However, the scale of contamination in the area was significant, and this work would continue for as long as necessary.
The president released video footage showing firefighting teams battling blazes and removing debris from destroyed buildings.
In its intensified attacks on the country, Russia over the last week launched nearly 2,000 strike drones, more than 1,600 aerial bombs, and 31 missiles, including North Korean ballistic missiles, Zelenskiy said.