ADDS STATEMENT BY RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - At least three people were injured as Ukraine claimed Thursday that it downed over 30 objects in an overnight Russian airstrike across multiple regions of the war-torn country.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a statement on Telegram that the country's air defenses downed five out of nine missiles launched by Russia, as well as 27 attack drones.
Oleshchuk said critical infrastructure was attacked during the overnight strikes, noting that the main direction of the attack was eastern Ukraine, particularly the country's Dnipropetrovsk region.
He added that the country's air defenses were operating in the region, as well as in the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava and Vinnytsia regions.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram that three people in the region were injured in the overnight attack, including two who were hospitalized and are in moderate condition.
He added that seven houses, five farm buildings and power lines were damaged in the region's Nikopol district.
Meanwhile, Vinnytsia Governor Serhiy Borzov said debris from a downed drone damaged critical infrastructure in that region as well.
Ukraine’s power grid operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram that the overnight airstrike harmed energy infrastructure facilities in the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Kyiv regions.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian energy holding DTEK said three of its staff were injured after a thermal power plant was struck overnight, causing "serious damage."
DTEK did not specify the plant's location.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a later statement that it carried out airstrikes against Ukrainian energy facilities that "ensure the production of weapons and military equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
"The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets are hit," it said.