Russia launched a large-scale missile attack against Ukraine on the morning of January 15, firing Kh-101, Kh-22, and Kalibr cruise missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.
This barrage followed the Russian Defense Ministry’s threats of retaliation after Ukraine conducted a mass attack targeting military and industrial sites across Russia on January 14.
Ukraine’s Air Force issued a nationwide air raid alert in the early hours of January 15, after warnings that a group of Tu-95MS strategic bombers had taken off from Russia’s Olenya airfield in Murmansk Oblast.
Russia also reportedly launched ballistic missiles from Belgorod Oblast.
Explosions were reported in Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. In Lviv Oblast, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi stated that Russian forces had “attacked the energy infrastructure of our region and Ukraine.”
Later in the morning of January 15, officials in Lviv Oblast confirmed that critical infrastructure facilities had been hit in two districts of the oblast, but added that there were no casualties. No information on the specific targets or the extent of the damage was released.
Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Military Administration, reported that the attacks had targeted “critical infrastructure facilities” in the oblast but had not resulted in any casualties. No further details were provided.
“It’s the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel later in the morning of January 15.
“More than 40 missiles were involved in this strike, including ballistic missiles. At least 30 were destroyed. There were also more than 70 Russian attack drones overnight,” he added.
“We constantly need to strengthen the existing capabilities of the Ukrainian air shield. Our partners at the NATO summit in Washington and in the Ramstein format made promises that have not yet been fully realized.”
Shortly after eight in the morning, the all-clear was given across much of the country.
Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the Russian missile threat in western Ukraine, according to the Polish Operational Command.
Ukraine’s state grid operator, Ukrenergo, imposed emergency blackouts as a preventative measure, as announced by Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko.
