Ukraine’s cold, dark battle
Kyiv fights to get water, power to millions after Russian strikes
Kyiv: Ukraine battled to get water and power to millions of people cut off after Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles that battered the country’s already crippled electricity grid.
The energy system in Ukraine is on the brink of collapse and millions have endured emergency blackouts over recent weeks.
The World Health Organisation has warned of “life-threatening” consequences and said millions may leave their homes as a result.
“The situation with electricity remains difficult in almost all regions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.
“But we are gradually moving away from blackouts.
“Every hour we return power to new consumers.”
More than 24 hours after Russian strikes smashed Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said late Thursday that 60% of homes in the capital were still suffering emergency outages.
Water services had been fully restored, said city officials.
And fresh strikes on Thursday killed at least four people in the city of Kherson, recently recaptured by Ukraine, said a senior official there.
The latest attacks on the power grid come with winter setting in and temperatures in the capital hovering just above freezing.
The western region of Khmelnytsky was one of the worst affected by power outages with just 35% of its normal capacity, but that was enough to connect critical infrastructure, said Serhii Hamaliy, the head of the regional administration.
About 300,000 residents in the Kharkiv region were still without power on Thursday evening, but electricity supply had been restored for nearly 70% of consumers.
Ukraine accused Russian forces of launching around 70 cruise missiles and drones in attacks that left 10 dead and around 50 wounded.
But Russia’s defence ministry denied striking any targets inside Kyiv, insisting that Ukrainian and foreign air defence systems had caused the damage.
Moscow is targeting power facilities in an apparent bid to force capitulation after nine months of war that has seen its forces fail in most of their stated territorial aims.