Blackouts hit Ukraine as Putin raids escalate
ROLLING blackouts remain in place in parts of Ukraine after Russia escalated its attacks on power stations and infrastructure with waves of missiles and drones.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more air defence systems to protect the country’s energy sector and accused the Kremlin of ecological terrorism by targeting hydro and thermal power plants.
He said: “Ukraine urgently requires additional air defence systems and missiles.
“We need a strong and reliable air shield over Ukraine to protect people not only in our country but also in the rest of Europe and around the world from Russian terror.”
In a video address, he also called for an increase in the supply of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine’s “current and upcoming actions”.
He noted: “We are well aware of what Russia is preparing for.they are obsessed with war and will not stop themselves.”
Some 120,000 residents in the eastern Kharkiv region are still without power after one of Ukraine’s largest thermal power plants was destroyed by shelling over a week ago.
Rolling blackouts were introduced after hydroelectric power plants, one south of Kyiv and one
in western Ukraine near Moldova, were targeted overnight on Friday when Russia launched 60 drones and 38 missiles.
Ukrainian air defences shot down 84 but several regions experienced partial blackouts. It was the second massive attack within a week in which Russia tried to overwhelm Ukraine’s defences.
A further 12 drones and four missiles were launched overnight on Friday, with eight drones intercepted.
President Zelensky warned that Russia wanted to repeat the widespread destruction caused after its forces blew up the Kakhovka Dam last June. It was Ukraine’s largest reservoir by volume, providing water for a hydroelectric power plant on the Dnipro River. The breach caused flooding and at least 50 deaths.
Zelensky noted that the latest attacks also threaten Moldova, as it is downstream from one of the hydro plants on the Dniester River.
He added: “Water will not stop at border posts, just as the Russian war will not stop unless it is stopped in time here in Ukraine.”
National grid operator Ukrenergo said that emergency blackout schedules were introduced yesterday in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovograd. Restrictions were already in place in Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih.
The UK’S Ministry of Defence said Russia has maintained a gradual advance west of Avdiivka but little progress has been made elsewhere.
It added: “Russia maintains a significant quantitative advantage in the conflict, overmatching Ukraine in munitions and equipment numbers.
“It is likely to be recruiting approximately 30,000 additional personnel a month and can highly likely continue to absorb losses and continue attacks aimed at wearing down Ukrainian forces.”