KYIV: Russian drones and missiles struck communications infrastructure in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, knocking out television and radio signals in five cities and towns, in an apparent attempt to cut people off from information, officials in Kyiv said.

The overnight attack, which involved 36 drones, couldindicate another pattern of Russian aerial attacks more than twoyears into a full-scale invasion that has seen Moscow target theenergy system and military production at different junctures.

“In addition to physically destroying the infrastructureobjects, the enemy is trying to jam Ukrainian radio stations andthe satellite signal of Ukrainian television,” the State Serviceof Special Communications and Information Protection said.

Two Russian fuel depots on fire after separate drone attacks

It said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app thatthe attack on facilities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions waspart of Russia’s “information warfare” and aimed at limitingpeople’s access to “truthful information and to share itspropaganda.”

The attack impacted broadcasting in the Kharkiv region’sIzium and Lozova, in addition to Sumy, Shostka and Bilopillia inthe Sumy region. Repairs were underway to restore radio andtelevision broadcasts in coordination with the nationalgovernment, Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said on national TV.

Mobile phone signals had been “mostly restored” over thecourse of day, he added.

Russia has conducted long-range strikes on Ukraine since itsFeb. 2022 invasion, focusing on particular targets at differentjunctures. During the first winter, Russia pounded Ukraine’senergy system with strikes, causing widespread blackouts.

Ukraine’s military, which has been grappling withsignificantly reduced weapons supplies from the West, said in astatement that its air defences had shot down 22 of the 36drones launched by Russia overnight.

Five were shot down over Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv andsoutheastern Dnipropetrovsk regions, local officials said.