Russia carried out a massive airstrike on Ukrainian energy facilities overnight from Friday to Saturday, targeting electricity production and distribution, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said, according to Reuters.
"Russian criminals have carried out another massive attack on Ukraine's energy facilities. The attack is still ongoing," Shmyhal said in a post on Telegram.
"Energy workers are ready to begin repair work as soon as the security situation allows," he added.
The government, he said, has introduced emergency power cuts across the country.
Two airports in Poland reopen after NATO planes scrambled over Russian strikes on Ukraine
Airports in Lublin and Rzeszow in Poland have reopened after authorities said military air operations, including NATO flights in Polish airspace, that were initiated due to Russian strikes on Ukraine had ended, Reuters reported.
There was no violation of Polish airspace, the Polish Army's Operational Command said. In a post on the X social network, they thanked NATO and the German Air Force, "whose aircraft helped ensure the safety of the skies over Poland today."
"Military aviation operations in our airspace, related to the Russian Federation's strikes on Ukraine, have ended," the Operational Command stated.
It added that "ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been restored to regular operation."
Ukraine said on Saturday that Russia had carried out a massive airstrike on Ukrainian energy facilities overnight, including strikes on power plants in the western part of the country.
The Polish military said earlier in the day that the military operation was preventive in nature and aimed to secure and protect airspace in areas bordering the affected regions.
Both airports, located in southeastern Poland, have temporarily suspended operations as a precaution, the Polish Air Navigation Agency said earlier, Reuters reports.
Both cities are located near Poland's border with Ukraine, and Rzeszow is NATO's main logistics hub for delivering weapons to Ukraine.
Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 reported on the X network that the airport closure involved NATO aircraft operating in the area.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also issued a notice to pilots that both airports were unavailable due to military activity related to national security.
Airports in Rzeszow and Lublin also suspended operations last month, but authorities said at the time that military aviation activities were routine and that there was no threat to Polish airspace.
Rzeszow is also NATO's main hub for delivering weapons to Ukraine.
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