More than 10 million Ukrainians without electricity after new attacks by Russians

More than ten million Ukrainians are deprived of electricity after a new wave of shelling russians at a time when winter begins to squeeze a population already put to the test by almost nine months of war, the president reported on Thursday ukrainian, Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Currently, more than 10 million Ukrainians are without electricity,” indicated at night Zelenskyspecifying that the regions of Odesa (south), Vinnytsia (center), Sumy (northeast) and kyiv (north) were the most affected.

LOOK HERE: Ukraine claims ‘scale of torture’ in Kherson is higher than in other regions

Previously, Zelensky had denounced “another Russian terrorist attack”.

“Civilian sites are the main target. Russia wages war on electricity and heating, intended for the people, by blowing up power plants and other energy facilities.” denounced the Ukrainian president in an economic forum.

Russia He claimed that the suffering of civilians in Ukraine is “the consequence” of kyiv’s refusal to negotiate.

Ukraine had already been hit on Tuesday by a series of attacks that left some 10 million users without electricity for several hours, according to kyiv authorities.

This photograph taken on November 14, 2022 shows a morning sky and an overhead power line near the newly liberated highway between Kherson and Mykolaiv in Ukraine. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP) (BULENT KILIC /)

“Horrific” level of torture in Kherson

The Russian bombardments on Thursday left at least 14 injured in Dnipro (central-east), including a 15-year-old girl, the regional governor reported.

In the kyiv region, Ukrainian defense shot down two cruise missiles as well as Iranian-made Russian Shahed suicide drones, according to the capital’s military administration.

In the Odessa region, the Russians attacked an infrastructure and three people were injured, according to the regional administration.

Russia also bombarded the Kharkov region (northeast), indicated its governor, Oleg Synegubov, who specified that the attacks reached “critical infrastructures”.

The shelling in recent days occurred after Russian forces were forced to withdraw from Kherson (south) by a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Dmytro Lubynetsin charge of Human Rights issues in the Ukrainian Parliament, denounced a level “horrifying” of torture in that region during the eight months of Russian occupation.

“Dozens of people” suffered “electric shocks and blows with metal pipes. They broke their bones” and “the Russians recorded everything”he assured.

Employees prepare coffee at a cafe without electricity in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv after three Russian missiles fired at an energy infrastructure on October 11, 2022. (Photo by Yuriy Dyachyshyn / AFP) (YURIY DYACHYSHYN/ )

“Worsening situation”

The national electricity operator, Ukrenergo, announced the extension of power cuts through Thursday due to the “worsening of the situation”.

MORE INFORMATION: Ukraine: 40% of the country’s consumers are without electricity, indicates the energy company DTEK

The company indicated on Facebook that “a cold snap” it had led to increased demand in regions where power had recently been restored.

In kyiv, which experienced its first snowfall on the eve of the boreal winter, many districts were left without electricity. A fine blanket of snow covered the cars parked in the streets of the capital.

The regional governor of kyivOleksii Kuleba, warned that next week will be “difficult”, with temperatures that could drop to “up to -10 °C”.

“I do not know what happened”

Controversy continues over what happened on Tuesday when a missile killed two people in Poland, a country in the NATOnear the Ukrainian border.

According to Poland and the NATOthat explosion, which raised fears of an escalation in the conflict, was possibly caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense missile launched to intercept Russian projectiles.

Zelensky He reiterated on Wednesday that the projectile was Russian, but this Thursday he qualified his position.

“I do not know what happened. We do not know for sure. The world doesn’t know. But I’m sure it was a Russian missile.” stated.

A group of Ukrainian experts arrived in Poland to participate in the investigation into the provenance of the missile.

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a new resolution urging Russia to withdraw from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and cease its operations against nuclear facilities, according to diplomatic sources.

Grain agreement is renewed

On the diplomatic front, the deal allowing grain to be exported from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has been extended for four months, easing concerns over a potential global food crisis.

ALSO SEE: Russia has used at least seven types of landmines in Ukraine since its invasion

The negotiations of the agreement, which was due to expire on Friday night, are being carried out with the mediation of Turkey and the UN.

Russia had briefly withdrawn from the pact at the end of October, after denouncing the use “for military purposes” by Ukraine of the humanitarian corridor.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative has made it possible to get more than 11 million tons of grain out of Ukrainian ports in four months from ports blocked since the start of the war by the Russian army.

Source: Elcomercio