-
By:
Associated Press
- November 26, 2022 09:00
- Share to:
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov admitted Thursday that Ukrainian energy facilities were targeted. But he said they were linked to Ukraine's military command and control system and that the aim was to disrupt the supply of the Ukrainian army, weapons and ammunition to the front lines. Authorities in Kyiv and the greater Kyiv region reported a total of 7 people killed and dozens injured.
Residents of Ukraine's bombed capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and huddled in cafes for power and heat on Thursday, defiantly going into survival mode after fresh Russian missile strikes a day earlier leveled the city and most of the country.
In hard-to-believe scenes in a sophisticated city of 3 million, some Kiev residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes as repair crews worked to reconnect supplies.
Friends and family exchanged messages to find out who had power and water back on. Some had one but not the other. The previous day's airstrike on Ukraine's power grid left many people without either.
Cafes in Kiev quickly became oases of comfort on Thursday.
Oleksiy Rashchupkin, a 39-year-old investment banker, awoke to find that the water had been reconnected to his third-floor apartment, but the power had not. His refrigerator melted in the dark, creating a puddle on his floor.
also
Kiev has become a frontline city as winter approaches
So he got into a taxi and crossed the Dnieper River from the left bank to the right, to a cafe he had noticed had remained open after earlier Russian attacks. Of course, it was serving hot drinks, hot food, and the music and Wi-Fi were on.
"I am here because there is heat, coffee and light," he said. "This is life."
Kiev on the ground
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said about 70% of the Ukrainian capital was still without power Thursday morning.
As Kiev and other cities rose, Kherson on Thursday came under the heaviest shelling since Ukrainian forces retook the southern city two weeks ago. Rocket fire killed four people outside a cafe and a woman was killed near her home, witnesses said, speaking to The Associated Press.
In Kiev, where cold rain fell on the remnants of earlier snowfall, the mood was somber but steely. Winter promises to be long. But Ukrainians say that if Russian President Vladimir Putin's intention is to break them, he should think again.
"No one will compromise their will and principles just for electricity," said Alina Dubeiko, 34 years old. She, too, sought the comfort of another cafe, equally crowded, warm and bright. Without electricity, heat and water at home, she was determined to continue her work routine. Adapting to life without the usual comforts, Dubeiko said she uses two glasses of water to wash herself, then pulls her hair into a ponytail and is ready for her work day.
She said she would rather be without power than live with the Russian occupation, which passed the nine-month mark on Thursday.
"No light or you? Without you," she said, echoing comments made by President Volodymyr Zelensky when Russia on Oct. 10 launched the first of what has now become a series of airstrikes on key Ukrainian infrastructure.
Air campaign
Western leaders denounced the bombing campaign. "Attacks against civilian infrastructure are war crimes," wrote French President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov admitted Thursday that Ukrainian energy facilities were targeted. But he said they were linked to Ukraine's military command and control system and that the aim was to disrupt the supply of the Ukrainian army, weapons and ammunition to the front lines. Authorities in Kyiv and the greater Kyiv region reported a total of 7 people killed and dozens injured.
also
17 killed and over 50 injured in Russian attack on Kiev
Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said: "We are carrying out attacks against infrastructure in response to the rampant flow of arms into Ukraine and Kiev's reckless calls to defeat Russia."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also tried to shift the blame for the civil strife to the Ukrainian government.
"The leadership of Ukraine has every opportunity to return the situation to normality, it has every opportunity to resolve the situation in such a way as to meet the demands of the Russian side and, accordingly, end all the suffering of of the civilian population," said Peskov. .
In Kiev, people lined up at public water points to fill plastic bottles. In a strange new time of war for her, 31-year-old Department of Health employee Kateryna Luchkina resorted to collecting rainwater from a drainpipe in order to at least wash her hands at work, which were not they had water. She filled two plastic bottles. A colleague followed behind her, doing the same.
"We Ukrainians are so resourceful, we will think of something. We don't lose our spirit," said Luchkina. "We work, live at a survival rate or something, as much as possible. We don't lose hope that everything will be fine."
The mayor said on Telegram that power engineers are "doing their best" to restore electricity. Water repair crews were also making progress. In the early afternoon, Klitschko announced that water supplies had been restored across the capital, warning that "some customers may still experience low water pressure".
Energy stability
Power, heat and water were gradually being restored to other cities as well. In the southeastern region of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk, the governor announced that 3 miners trapped underground due to power outages had been rescued. Regional authorities posted messages on social media updating people on the progress of repairs, but also saying they needed time.
Aware of the difficulties - both now and in the future as winter progresses - authorities are opening thousands of so-called "invincibility points" - heated and powered spaces that provide hot meals, electricity and internet connections. More than 3.700 had been opened across the country by Thursday morning, said a senior official in the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
In Kherson, hospitals without power and water are also facing the dire consequences of intensifying Russian attacks. They hit residential and commercial buildings on Thursday, setting some on fire, spewing ash into the sky and shattering windows on streets. Paramedics helped the injured.
Olena Zhura was delivering bread to her neighbors when a blow that destroyed half of her house injured her husband, Viktor. He writhed in pain as the medics wheeled him away.
also
Residents of Ukrainian capital face Russian attacks and a merciless winter
"I was shocked," she said through tears. "Then I heard him screaming, 'Save me, save me.'
Translated by: Forca Jashari
