Putin meets soldiers’ mothers as Ukraine battles to restore power
KYIV, Nov 26, (AFP) Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed 15 civilians Friday, officials said, as engineers across the country sought to restore heat, water and power to major cities.
Throughout the country, Russian air strikes in recent weeks have brought Ukraine's energy infrastructure to its knees as winter approaches and temperatures near freezing, spurring fears of a health crisis and a further exodus.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than six million households in the country were still affected by power cuts, two days after targeted Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The country's national energy company, Ukrenergo, said late Friday that the grid was still facing a 30 percent deficit, with its technicians working “around the clock” to restore power. But it said it expected to increase coverage over the weekend, boosted by additional nuclear power.
The attack on Kherson, a key southeastern city recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces, marked the deadliest Russian bombardment in recent days.
“The Russian invaders opened fire on a residential area with multiple rocket launchers. A large building caught fire,” said Yarovslav Yanushovich, head of the Kherson military administration.
Earlier Friday, the region's governor said patients in the city hospital and others from a psychiatric unit had been evacuated because of “constant Russian shelling”.
The attacks on power stations and other infrastructure resources throughout Ukraine are Russia's latest attempt to force Ukrainian capitulation after Moscow's forces failed to topple the government and capture Kyiv in the war's early stages.
In the capital, where about half of residents were still without power two days after Russian strikes hammered the country's energy grid, engineers worked to restore services.
“We have to endure this winter, a winter that everyone will remember,” Zelensky said on social media, as UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited to announce a new aid package.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a government meeting, “Almost all Ukraine's critical infrastructure has been reconnected.” Critical infrastructure includes water utilities, heat generation plants, hospitals and emergency services.
Meanwhile, for the first time since he launched the war in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin met the mothers of soldiers fighting in Ukraine, assuring those whose children had been killed that he and Russia's elite “share this pain”.
“I want you to know I, personally, and the entire leadership of the country share this pain,” he told them. He said that many reports about the conflict could not be trusted, describing them as “fake news, deceit and lies”.
Russia has introduced legislation that effectively bans public criticism of the war.
Kremlin critics accuse authorities of concealing the real number of dead and wounded Russian troops.
The attacks on power stations and other infrastructure throughout Ukraine are Russia’s latest attempt to force Ukrainian capitulation.