Kyiv: Approx 100,000 people in Kharkiv region are still without electricity, water and heating after a A new wave of Russian attacks Against the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday. In response, Kyiv launched a series of attacks With drones and missiles against Russian energy facilitiesIn what has become an almost daily exchange of bombings between the two countries, with increasing impacts on the civilian population and energy supplies throughout the region.
“he Massive level of destruction Missiles and drones — 458 drones and 45 missiles, 406 of which were shot down, according to Kiev — hit energy facilities across the country. The Ukrainian energy minister described that night as “one of the most difficult nights” since the beginning of the war, while the state-owned Centenergo company reported that its generating capacity had “dropped to zero.”
The minister told United News, “The enemy launched ballistic missiles that are very difficult to intercept. It is difficult to remember such a large number of direct attacks against energy facilities since 2022.”
Russian drones also bombed two nuclear substations in western Ukraine, which supply power to the Khmelnytsky and Rivne plants. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sepha denounced that Moscow “deliberately threatens nuclear security in Europe” and called for… China and India To pressure the Kremlin to stop the attacks.
Russia has made the Ukrainian power grid a frequent target, with the aim of Depriving civilians of heat and water During the winter. According to Naftogaz, it was Saturday Ninth mass attack Against gas infrastructure since October, which has already shut down half of national natural gas production.
Experts fear that if the attacks are repeated, Much of the country could face winter without heatingIt is a similar situation to what happened in 2023. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said: “Russia is trying to turn the cold into a weapon.”
At the same time, Kyiv School of Economics It stated that damage to energy infrastructure could have long-term consequences on the economy and civic well-being.
in revenge, Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russian energy facilitiesIn an effort to disrupt oil exports and cause fuel shortages in Moscow.
Sunday, More than 20 thousand people in Russia They were without electricity In border regions such as Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh. In the regional capital Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that “the electricity and heating network were severely damaged,” while a fire at a power plant in Kursk tore through ten towns.
In Voronezh, a drone attack caused a power outage and a fire at a public facility. Governor Alexander Gusev confirmed that several drones were intercepted, but the fire damaged part of the local thermal plant.
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 44 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk and Rostov regions, although it did not mention the attacks in Voronezh or Belgorod. And in Taganrog, a city with a population of 240,000, he was there Power outage for several hours Due to a fire in a transformer substation.
Kyiv has been there for months Attacking Russian refineries and oil depots To cut off sources of income that finance Moscow’s military offensive.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister reiterated his call to Urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency After Russian attacks on substations that supply energy to nuclear plants. Sabiha stressed, “These attacks were not mistakes, but rather were planned attacks. Russia is deliberately endangering European nuclear security.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey LavrovHis country reportedly “strictly adheres to its international obligations.” He stressed that Moscow does not seek to escalate the nuclear conflict. However, he stressed that the Kremlin is already working on it By order of Vladimir Putin To study the possibility Resuming atomic testingdiscontinued since 1990.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to remove doubts: “Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is committed to banning nuclear tests and will not do so unless the United States does so first.”
Putin’s order coincided with statements by the US President Donald TrumpWhich hinted that Washington could resume its own experiments for the first time in three decades, which sparked international concern.
In the midst of this exchange of attacks, he rose Diplomatic channels between Moscow and Washington remain frozen. On Sunday, Lavrov announced his readiness to meet with the US Secretary of State. Marco Rubio“To improve bilateral relations,” but he reiterated that “there will be no peace without taking Russian interests into account.”
Four years after the invasion began, war broke out At stagnation pointwith Cross attacks and devastating energy infrastructure on both sides of the front. In Ukraine, engineers struggle to restore electricity amid falling temperatures, as the country prepares for another winter under the bombs.
AP, AFP and ANSA agencies
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