Russian missile strikes black out Ukraine
The latest attacks coincided with the first snow this season, after officials in Kyiv warned of ‘difficult’ days ahead.
Fresh Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine on Thursday in the latest wave of attacks that have crippled the country’s energy infrastructure and left millions without power as winter sets in and snow falls.
Repeated barrages have disrupted electricity and water supplies but the Kremlin blamed civilians’ suffering on Kyiv’s refusal to negotiate, rather than on Russian attacks.
The latest strikes coincided with the first snow this season, after officials in Kyiv warned of “difficult” days ahead.
“Four missiles and five Shahed drones were shot down over Kyiv,” the capital’s regional administration said, referring to Iranian-made suicide drones Moscow has been deploying in swarms against Ukraine targets.
The salvos also came as Moscow and Kyiv confirmed the extension of a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, which aims to help ease pressure on the global supply of food.
Ukraine has faced a series of strikes against its power grid following battlefield victories against Russia, the latest being Moscow’s retreat from the southern city of Kherson two weeks ago.
Since the Russians retreated after eight months of occupation, chilling accounts have started to emerge from Kherson.
Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets, described the scale of torture uncovered there as “horrific”. Mr Lubynets said the authorities had found “torture chambers” where dozens of people had been abused and killed.
On Friday, Kherson residents were scrambling to stockpile aid such as food, blankets, nappies and winter clothing, with shouting matches and shoving erupting as volunteers tossed supplies into the crowds waiting for hours in freezing rain.
As Russia pursues the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the head of the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, Valentyn Reznichenko, said strikes had hit the administrative centre of Dnipro.
“An industrial enterprise has been hit. There is a big fire,” he said, later announcing that 23 people were injured, including a 15-year-old girl.
In the southern Odessa region, a Russian strike targeted infrastructure and the Governor warned residents of the threat of a “massive” missile attack, urging them to seek shelter.
The eastern region of Kharkiv was also struck.
Ukrain President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia as a “terrorist state” and said Moscow “wants to bring Ukrainians only more pain and suffering”.
The Kremlin, however, said ultimately Kyiv was to blame for the fallout from the blackouts.
“The unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to settle the problem, to start negotiations, its refusal to seek common ground – this is their consequence,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The largest wave of Russian missiles on cities across Ukraine earlier this week cut power to millions of homes, but supplies were largely restored within hours.
But Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo said on Friday that the “cold snap” had brought increased demand in regions where electricity was recently restored, and Mr Zelensky said more than 10 million people were without power after the fresh wave of strikes.
“We are doing everything to normalise the supply,” he said. Government energy adviser Oleksandr Kharchenko said that 50 per cent of Ukrainians were experiencing disruptions.
Tensions spiked earlier this week after a missile landed in a Polish town on the border with Ukraine, and there was a flurry of accusations over who was responsible for the blast that killed two people.
Mr Zelensky, after previously saying a Russian missile was to blame, seemed to soften his comments on the incident that raised fears of a dangerous escalation.
“I don’t know what happened. We don’t know for sure. The world does not know,” he said.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also appeared to roll back Kyiv’s position that it was a Russian missile following a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
AFP
Titan of Scottish politics for 30 years, Alex Salmond dies, 69
Minutes before his sudden death, Alex Salmond castigated the Scottish nationalists for being duped by Westminster.
Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
Alexi Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s top political opponent, tragically wrote ‘there will not be anybody to say goodbye to’ from prison in his posthumous memoir set to be released later this month.