Russian Missile Strikes Force Emergency Power Shutdowns

Ukraine is switching to emergency shutdowns to stabilise its power grid after Monday’s Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He said many regions were affected, and the local authorities warned that about “half of the Kyiv region would remain without electricity in the coming days.”

Overnight, more missiles hit ‘critical infrastructure’ and residential houses near the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, regional officials said.

No casualties were reported.

Four people were killed in Monday’s attacks.

Fears Hypothermia
Ukraine is now seeing snow and sub-zero temperatures in many regions, and millions are without electricity and running water. “There are fears that a number of people may die of hypothermia.”

In a separate development on Tuesday, the governor of Russia’s Kursk region said “a drone attack on an airfield set ablaze an oil storage tank.”

There were no casualties, said Roman Starovoyt. He did not say who could be behind the attack in the region that borders Ukraine.

In his video address late on Monday, President Zelensky said 70 Russian missiles were fired on Monday, and “most of them were shot down.”

The Russian defence ministry said it hit all 17 of its intended targets during its “massive strike using high-precision weapons.”

He said “the biggest number of shutdowns is in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi and Cherkasy regions,” referring to the regions spanning the length and breadth of the country.

But he pledged that the authorities “will do everything to restore stability.”

Mr Zelensky said electricity supplies were also affected in neighbouring Moldova, proving that Russia’s actions were “a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to our entire region.”

Monday’s strikes was Russia’s eighth massive missile attack in eight weeks.

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq