- Parts of the capital Kyiv have no power and water after new strikes on Tuesday.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that all three victims of the latest Russian strikes were employees of “critical infrastructure”, adding that two facilities in the capital had been hit.
- However, Western officials in Ukraine said it was not in doubt that the drones had come from Iran and it was obvious Russia was seeking to attack the power network.
Following significant Russian attacks in recent days, more than a thousand towns and villages across Ukraine are still without electricity, according to Ukrainian officials as reported by BBC.
Critical infrastructure
Emergencies services spokesman Oleksandr Khorunzhyi said more than 70 people had been killed in the rocket and drone strikes since 7 October.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 30% of Ukraine’s power stations had been destroyed in the past eight days.
Parts of the capital Kyiv have no power and water after new strikes on Tuesday.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that all three victims of the latest Russian strikes were employees of “critical infrastructure”, adding that two facilities in the capital had been hit.
Power and water were cut in Zhytomyr, west of the capital, and one energy facility was hit in the south-eastern city of Dnipro.
Tough winter
“Currently, according to the energy ministry, 1,162 settlements remain without power,” the emergencies services spokesman said.
After suffering a series of painful defeats on the battlefield, Russia has stepped up attacks in recent weeks on electricity infrastructure in cities away from the front lines.
Ukrainian emergency officials have rushed to repair the damage, but the strikes, ahead of winter, have raised concerns about how the system will respond.
“The entire population needs to prepare for a tough winter.”
Ukrainian are being urged not use electric appliances between 07:00 – 09:00 local time (04:00 – 06:00 GMT) and 17:00 – 22:00 on a daily basis.
Drone fatality
At least nine people were killed in Kyiv and Sumy, in the north-east, by “kamikaze” drones 24 hours before to the most recent strikes, which are thought to have been provided by Iran.
At first, it was unclear how much drone activity took place on Tuesday.
One person was killed overnight when an S-300 anti-aircraft missile from Russian bombers struck a residential structure in the southern city of Mykolaiv, according to reports from Ukraine. The flower market for the city was also devastated.
In other attacks early on Tuesday:
- In Zhytomyr, the mayor said there was no power or water in the city and hospitals were working on back-up power
- 11 villages in the Zhytomyr region were also without electricity, officials said.
- Power and water supplies were disrupted in the central city of Dnipro, where a large energy facility was destroyed, and officials said street lighting would be turned off
- Shelling was reported in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv
- Infrastructure in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia was hit, although local officials said no-one had been hurt.
Rolling blackouts
In some cities, Ukrainians are buying power generators and gas burners.
Some towns are already facing rolling blackouts.
In a separate development, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company accused Moscow of abducting two senior officials at its nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhia.
The plant – Europe’s biggest – is occupied by Russian forces but its Ukrainian staff continue to work there under difficult conditions.
“We were expecting that Russia will intensify attacks on energy infrastructure and civilian infrastructure and increase the urban warfare towards autumn – and here we are exactly with that scenario taking place,” Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told the BBC.
Power network
Russia’s missile and drone attacks have brought renewed calls from the Ukrainian government for the delivery of air defence missiles.
Vedant Patel of the US state department said Washington would not hesitate to use sanctions.
The EU said it was gathering evidence and was ready to act.
However, Western officials in Ukraine said it was not in doubt that the drones had come from Iran and it was obvious Russia was seeking to attack the power network.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he would ask President Zelensky to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Warning
Israeli officials have so far stopped short of sending weapons to Kyiv.
One Russian security figure, Dmitry Medvedev, has warned that if they did, relations with Moscow would be destroyed.
And across the Sea of Azov from Ukraine, a Russian fighter jet crashed into the courtyard of a block of flats in the southern Russian town of Yeysk.
At least 13 people were killed, including three children, while dozens of residents were rescued from the nine-storey block.
The pilots on board the Su-34 plane ejected.
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Source: BBC
