Following Russian attacks on energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, more than a million households in Ukraine were left without electricity.
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| As Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, firefighters work to put out a fire at energy infrastructure facilities that were damaged by a Russian missile strike in an undisclosed location, in Ukraine |
Russian attacks
As intense fighting continues in the southeastern regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kherson, where Russia has struggled to stop renewed Ukrainian advances, Russian attacks on energy facilities and other areas across the country have left more than a million households in Ukraine without electricity.
Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett said on Sunday from Kyiv that Ukrainian officials said the Russian attacks continued overnight, but they did not specify what was hit.
He stated, "They are saying that there has been a specific shift in strategy, especially in terms of energy, towards civilian infrastructure."Saturday's strikes were just as widespread, with the majority of them targeting energy infrastructure.
Hours after air raid sirens blared across the nation, Ukraine's air force issued a statement on Saturday stating that Russia had launched "a massive missile attack" against "critical infrastructure."It claimed to have destroyed 18 of 33 air- and sea-based cruise missiles.
As engineers rushed to repair the damaged network, local officials in regions across Ukraine reported attacks on energy facilities and power outages. In the event of power outages, some residents were advised to stock up on water.
Since October 10, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's power plants, water supply systems, and other important infrastructure, destroying one-third of Ukraine's power plants in apparent retaliation for an attack on the Crimea bridge, a crucial military supply route, and recent advances by Ukrainian forces.
No water no power
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| No water no power |
At 11:15 am (08:15 GMT), the national air raid sirens reverberated after the first round of missile attacks.
Ukrenergo, the operator of the state grid, stated that the attacks were focused on transmission infrastructure in western Ukraine. However, power supply restrictions were in place in ten regions of the country, including Kyiv, the capital.
Ukrenergo writes in the Telegram app, "The scale of damage is comparable or might exceed the consequences of the attacks October 10-12," referring to the first wave of attacks on Ukraine's power system last week.
In a Saturday social media post, the city council urged residents to store water "in case it’s also gone within an hour."
On Saturday, the mayor of the 215,000-person city of Lutsk in the far west of Ukraine issued a similar appeal via Telegram. He stated that Russian missiles had struck local energy facilities, resulting in a partial loss of power in Lutsk.
Regional authorities stated on Telegram that a rocket struck a nearby power station, resulting in the darkness of the central city of Uman, which was a significant center of pilgrimage for Hasidic Jews and had approximately 100,000 people living there prior to the war.
Ukrenergo told the AFP news agency on Saturday that some parts of Ukraine are using as little as 20% less electricity.
“We are grateful to both individuals who have cut back on their consumption at home and businesses that are doing the same in their workplaces and offices. In written comments to AFP, Ukrenergo chief Volodymyr Kudrytskyi stated, "We see savings in different regions, and on different days the level of voluntary consumption reduction ranges from five to twenty percent on average."
Conflict in Kherson
In the meantime, Russia's defense ministry said on Saturday that its forces had stopped Ukrainian attempts to attack the southern regions of Kherson, Luhansk, and Donetsk.
It claimed that Ukraine's attempt to breach Russia's line of defense in the Kherson region's settlements of Piatykhatky, Sukhanove, Sablukivka, and Bezvodne had been foiled by Russian forces.
The region's 88 towns have been claimed by Ukrainian authorities. Reports from the battlefield could not be independently verified by Al Jazeera.
According to Fawcett of Al Jazeera, the Ukrainians are imposing a "kind of a news blackout" in the Kherson region. We cannot enter. He stated, "There's not much being said from the Ukrainian side."
One of the four territories that Moscow illegally annexed last month in Kherson.
Additionally, Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of plotting to detonate a significant dam in the Kherson region. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president, has said that Russian forces are putting explosives in the dam at Nova Kakhovka.
He warned that it would be destroyed catastrophically. In the meantime, officials in Kherson with Russian installations have accused Ukraine of firing missiles at the dam.
Both sides have failed to back up their claims with evidence.
Kimberley Halkett, reporting from the White House for Al Jazeera, spoke with John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, who described Russia's alleged attacks on the dam as "absolutely unacceptable."
He stated, "It's another example of Russian brutality against the Ukrainian people, he's trying to strike fear into them and he's trying to affect their ability to get through what will likely be a cold winter." "It's another example of Russian brutality against the Ukrainian people."
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