Russian attack damages three thermal power plants

“We will continue to fight. » The family of Ivan Gershkovich, an American journalist arrested in Russia a year ago for espionage, vowed Friday to continue their fight for his release. “We never imagined such a situation with our son and brother, let alone an entire year spent in uncertainty,” his family said in a letter to its readers. The Wall Street Journal, his employer. But despite this long battle we are strong. »

In his letter, his parents Mikhail and Ella, as well as his sister Danielle, describe an “incredible” year. “We felt like we were holding our breath,” the family recounted. “We lived with constant pain in our hearts thinking about Ivan every moment of the day.”

“We see him facing this with his head held high because he is innocent,” the family added in the letter. We will continue to fight for Ivan’s freedom, no matter the cost. »

Ukraine announced on Friday that Russian forces had fired 99 drones and missiles into Ukrainian territory overnight and that its defense systems had managed to destroy 84 of them. “84 aerial targets were destroyed: 58 Shahed and 26 missiles”, the Ukrainian Air Force said. One statement referred to Iranian-made attack drones regularly used by Russian forces.

Three Ukrainian thermal power plants were damaged following a Russian drone missile attack, Ukrainian energy supplier DTEK announced on Friday. “Occupiers attacked three DTEK thermal power plants. The equipment was seriously damaged. After the attack, engineers quickly began to deal with the consequences,” DTEK said in a statement.

The Polish armed forces said their country’s military planes flew over western Ukraine to monitor Polish airspace because of Russian missiles. “During the night, intense long-range air activity was observed by the Russian Federation, linked to missile attacks on targets on Ukrainian territory,” the Polish Army Command said in a statement.

“All necessary procedures have been taken to protect Polish airspace,” and Polish forces are “constantly monitoring the situation,” the statement added.

Russian drones and missiles targeted power plants in east-central Ukraine overnight Thursday into Friday, Ukraine’s energy minister announced Friday. An air alert was issued across Ukraine overnight from Thursday into Friday. Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the “massive attacks” targeted targets, particularly energy production sites in the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Cherkasy regions.

The governor of Dnipropetrovsk region said in a statement that “this night, air defense forces shot down ten drones over the region – in the Pavlograd, Krivi Rig, Dnipro, Kamiansky districts. Four missiles were destroyed over Dnipro. “Several energy installations were damaged. (…) A man was injured on one of them,” added Sergiy Lisak.

In Kamianske, an agricultural cooperative was hit and five people were injured – a 5-year-old child and two women aged 19 and 47, who did not require hospitalization, and two men aged 36 and 47, whose condition is critical.

As every day, no editorial staff 20 minutes All conflict information is collected to provide you. On Thursday, Russian bombing continued over Ukraine. Some of the strikes left at least three dead and about fifteen injured, particularly in the south and east of the country. The region shares its northern border with Russia and therefore regularly finds itself under fire from Russian troops.