Russia’s largest ever airstrike on critical infrastructure in Ukraine left around 1.5 million people without power overnight and into Friday.
Russia launched a total of 150 missiles and drones, damaging energy facilities across the country, including several thermal power plants and Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant.
Domestic internet connections were also affected by the attack, according to data from internet monitoring services. net block and cloudflare radar.
NetBlocks said the eastern region of Ukraine was the most affected, with “the most obvious infrastructure impact in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, and Khmelnytsky.” The situation in Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine, is particularly dire. Internet traffic in the city fell 68% compared to the previous year. Reported last week by Cloudflare Radar.
Several Ukrainian cities, particularly in the Kharkiv region, are facing internet disruptions after missile attacks damaged power supplies. Traffic in Kharkiv is 68% lower than last week (after 3 a.m. UTC). Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Khmelnytsky Oblast and Zaporizhia were also affected. pic.twitter.com/proW1e3Zzd
— Cloudflare Radar (@CloudflareRadar) March 22, 2024
Local state officials in Kharkiv said Russia left Kharkiv with almost no electricity. The power outage affected the city’s water supply, electric transport and systems that issue air raid warnings. Local police will use loudspeakers and walkie-talkies to alert the public to possible threats from Russia.
Kharkiv suffered a complete blackout after the Russian bombing. Along with power, we also lost water and heat. Public transportation will also stop working.The city is paralyzed
— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) March 22, 2024
This is not the first time a Russian missile attack has caused power outages and internet outages in Ukraine. In early January, internet connectivity in Kiev was “significantly” disrupted after dozens of Russian missiles struck the city. In October 2022, the country experienced a nationwide disruption of communications services after Russian missiles damaged some of its communications infrastructure and energy facilities.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of Ukraine’s Energy Research Center, said the recent missile attacks on key Ukrainian facilities were the largest barrage and the most well-planned.
“Due to the scale of the operation, it took a lot of time to prepare,” he said. Russia has stockpiled missiles and drones, analyzed last year’s attacks, and collected information on the current state of Ukraine’s power system and the level of defenses it has built.
Kharchenko said that ahead of the attack, Russia had also launched an information operation against Ukraine, adding: “Russia has been using the media and the “They used Telegram channels to spread panic,” he said.
Ukrainian authorities maintain that despite the scale and intensity of the attack, it did not achieve its goal of causing a complete blackout in the country.
Earlier this month, Russia attempted to use cyber means to cause a communications blackout in Ukraine. Hackers associated with the Russian threat actor Sandworm attacked multiple internet providers in Ukraine, disrupting their operations for more than a week, according to reports.
In December, the same group hacked Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, leaving millions without mobile phone service and internet.
In some attacks, Russia combines both kinetic warfare and cyber methods to inflict further harm on victims.
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