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REUTERS/THOMAS PETER
Men fish in a frozen lake, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, on a cold winter day in a left-bank neighborhood in Kyiv, in Ukraine.
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REUTERS/GLEB GARANICH
Children wait while charging their devices inside a gas station turned into a humanitarian aid point during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
KYIV >> More than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are still without heating following a devastating Russian attack early on Friday, local authorities said on Sunday.
Russia has intensified bombardments of Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said work was proceeding in localities affected by the attacks, noting that the situation was “still extremely difficult”, particularly in border regions.
“Repair work is still proceeding in Kyiv after the strike that occurred the day before yesterday,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The main task is to restore power supply to all buildings.”
Zelenskyy said 200 emergency crews were conducting repairs in the Kyiv region surrounding the capital.
“I haven’t had electricity at home for about 55 hours. So, in order not to cry, I am simply laughing,” said Liza Lazarenko, playing cards with a friend at a school in the capital turned into a humanitarian aid point.
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“Thank God they turned on the heating. But at home, honestly, my head is spinning, because there is absolutely nothing to be done without electricity.”
Zelenskyy said earlier Russia had launched 1,100 drones, more than 890 guided aerial bombs and over 50 missiles, including ballistic, cruise and medium-range weapons, against Ukraine over the past week.
On Friday, a missile strike on Kyiv left virtually the entire city without power and heating amid a sharp cold snap, and it was not until Sunday that authorities restored water supplies and partially restored electricity and heating.
Zelenskyy said Russia deliberately waited for freezing weather to make things worse for the Ukrainian people, and this was “a cynical Russian terror specifically against civilians”. Moscow made no immediate response.
The war’s fourth winter could be the coldest and darkest yet, with the accumulated damage to the grid bringing utilities to the brink and temperatures, already below minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 F), set to plunge to minus 20 later this week.
“Restoration work is ongoing. However, the energy supply situation in the capital remains very difficult,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
“According to forecasts, the severe frosts are not expected to subside in the coming days. Therefore, the difficult situation in the capital will continue,” he added.
Not one day without attacks this week
Ukraine’s energy ministry said Russian forces had attacked the country’s power system again during the night, briefly cutting off electricity to the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
“Not a single day passed this week without attacks on energy facilities and critical infrastructure. A total of 44 attacks were recorded,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram.
Svyrydenko said the restoration of heat and electricity supplies was proceeding at a record pace, noting significant improvements in Kyiv would require time but could be reached by Thursday.