Ukraine makes progress in restoring electricity services after massive Russian bombardments

Ukraine works this Saturday to restore the electricity and the supply of aguaa day after massive Russian bombings that caused cuts to these basic services throughout the territory, at a time when temperatures are below zero.

The Ukrainian national operator imposed emergency blackouts on Friday after Russia massively bombed the country’s energy facilities.

The energy system “continues to recover,” Ukrenergo said on Saturday, noting however that the energy deficit is still “significant.”

Restoring power could take longer compared to previous bombings, due to the extent of the damage in the north, center and south of the country, the operator insisted.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskystated that kyiv and 14 other regions were affected by water or electricity cuts after the attacks.

Moscow fired 74 missiles, mainly cruise missiles, on Friday, according to the Ukrainian army, which specified that the anti-aircraft defense managed to shoot down 60 of them.

A third of kyiv’s residents were still without power on Saturday, according to the mayor, Vitali Klitschko.

However, the authorities managed to restore the water supply and the operation of the metro, which had been interrupted so that residents could use the stations as shelter.

The attacks also left Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city in the northeast, in the dark, but electricity had already been restored by Saturday, according to regional governor Oleg Sinegubov.

While Moscow was bombing Ukrainethe Russian president, Vladimir Putinmet with the high command in charge of the military operation in that former Soviet republic, as announced by the Kremlin on Saturday.

“I would like to hear your proposals on our actions in the short and medium term,” Putin told the meeting, which was attended by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. The images were broadcast on Saturday by Russian state television.

“Cruel and inhuman attacks”

After a series of military setbacks in the south and northeast of Ukraine, Russia, which launched an offensive in Ukraine at the end of February, has opted since October for a tactic of mass attacks targeting energy networks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the strikes were aimed at Ukrainian military and energy facilities, and also sought to disrupt “the transfer of foreign-produced weapons and ammunition.”

“All assigned targets were hit,” he declared in his daily report.

The head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, on Friday condemned Russia’s “cruel and inhumane attacks” on Ukraine.

In kyiv, temperatures on Friday ranged between 1 and 3 degrees below zero. The capital withstood “one of the biggest missile attacks” since the Russian invasion began on February 24, the region’s military administration said. The authorities specified that the air defense shot down 37 of 40 missiles.

At Kryvyi Rig (centre), shelling hit a residential building. A 64-year-old woman and a young couple with a young son were killed, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on Saturday. Another 13 people were injured, he added.

In Kherson (south), recently recaptured by kyiv troops, Russian shelling killed a 36-year-old man and wounded a 70-year-old woman, said Governor Yaroslav Yanushevich.

protracted war

Moscow alleges that the shelling of Ukrainian energy facilities is a response to the explosion that destroyed the bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula with Russian territory.

The Kremlin also considers that kyiv is responsible for the situation for rejecting the negotiation conditions proposed by Moscow.

Aiming to bring Moscow to the negotiating table, the European Union on Thursday approved a ninth package of sanctions, including a ban on exporting drone engines to Russia or “third countries” such as Iran.

For their part, the Ukrainian military authorities warn that Russia is preparing an offensive that includes a new attempt to capture kyiv.

and the head of the I’LL TAKEJens Stoltenberg warned that Moscow is preparing for a “long war” against Ukraine.

“We must not underestimate Russia,” Stoltenberg told AFP. “We see that they are mobilizing more forces, that they are also ready to suffer a lot of losses, that they are trying to gain access to more weapons and ammunition,” he said.

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