Ukraine on Monday accused Russia of continuing to attack vital infrastructure in the country, including in the capital kyiv, leaving “hundreds of villages” without power.
In the past few hours, Russian forces have attacked energy facilities in three regions of the country, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal said, citing “five drone strikes” in kyiv and “missile strikes” in the Dnipropetrovsk (central- east) and Sumy (northeast).
“Hundreds of villages are without electricity,” Chmygal was quoted as saying by the French news agency AFP.
Chmygal said energy services were trying to restore electricity supply, but renewed his call for Ukrainians to curb consumption.
The operator of the electricity distribution system in Ukraine, Ukrenergo, confirmed that its teams are trying to repair the damage, but did not rule out the possibility of adopting emergency cut-off times, the Ukrinform agency reported.
The attacks in kyiv damaged electrical installations but also hit a residential building, leaving one dead and three wounded, Ukrainian authorities said.
The Ukrainian presidency said that “there are also dead and wounded” in the Sumy region.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian soldiers “shot down three enemy missiles” but another “hit an energy infrastructure facility,” the Ukrainian presidency said.
The attacks came a week after Russia launched a bombing campaign targeting energy infrastructure in several regions of Ukraine, leaving dozens dead and wounded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he does not anticipate new such attacks in Ukraine, following missile and drone strikes earlier this week in retaliation for the partial destruction of the Crimean bridge, which he blamed on kyiv.
Reacting to today’s attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the actions of Russian forces “will not break” the Ukrainian people.
“The enemy can attack our cities, but he will not be able to break us,” he said on social media, quoted by the French news agency AFP.
The information released by the two sides about the course of the war cannot be immediately independently verified.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year, unleashing a war that plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but various sources, including the UN, have admitted that it will be considerably high.
Source: TSF
