Large parts of the Ukrainian capital Kiev were left without electricity, water and heating on Saturday after another night of Russian drone attacks.
The power outages followed the request of the state electricity operator Ukrenergo to reduce consumption, as well as the introduction of regular multi-hour electricity restrictions that are applied during the war in order to preserve the remaining energy capacities. The company announced that teams are working to restore services, reports Radio Free Europe.
Temperatures down to minus 15, open heating centers
City authorities have warned that temperatures could drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius during the weekend. In response to worsening conditions, around 1,200 heating centers for citizens have been established in Kyiv.
Heavy attacks and civilian casualties
The latest supply disruptions followed several days of intense Russian attacks across Ukraine. In a massive rocket and drone attack on Kyiv on Friday, four people were killed and 26 were wounded.
About 20 residential buildings were damaged, including one that houses the Qatari embassy, making this attack one of the largest in the capital in recent months.
The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitalij Klitschko, confirmed that after the attack, half of the residential buildings in the city were left without heating. He called on the citizens to, if they have the opportunity, temporarily leave the city due to serious disruptions in the supply of electricity.
Zelenski: Coldness as a tool of terror
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Moscow is trying to use the winter conditions as a weapon against civilians.
“Moscow is trying to use the cold weather as a tool of terror,” Zelenski said on Friday.
Debate in the UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council will meet on January 12 to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Andriy Meljnik stated in the letter that Russia “has reached a terrifying new level of war crimes and crimes against humanity by terrorizing the civilian population.”
Russia, however, denies that it is deliberately targeting civilians, despite abundant evidence since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
