Ukraine says Russia's "tactics of terror" apparent in huge missile attack on energy sector as winter arrives

Kyiv — Russia launched a massive attack Thursday on Ukraine's energy sector, forcing emergency power outages as temperatures dropped to freezing across the country. Ukraine's energy grid has been heavily targeted since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of "terror" tactics by trying to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness and cut off heating to civilians throughout the winter.

The overnight strikes come after two weeks of dramatic escalation that has seen both sides launch new weapons to gain an upper hand ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January.

Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said power infrastructure was "under massive enemy attack" after a countrywide air alert was issued for incoming missiles.