Ukraine has half of its energy system disabled as winter comes, PM says
Ukraine’s prime minister says weeks of Russian missile strikes and drone attacks on “civilian and critical infrastructure” have disabled almost half of the country’s energy system.
Denys Shmyhal warned on Friday that the capital Kiev could face a “complete shutdown” of the power grid as temperatures plunge.
Shmyhal made the remarks during a joint news conference with Valdis Dombrovskis, a vice president in the European Commission.
“On November 15 alone, Russia fired about 100 missiles at Ukrainian cities,” Shmyhal said. “Unfortunately Russia continues to carry out missile strikes on Ukraine’s civilian and critical infrastructure. Almost half of our energy system is disabled.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in separate remarks that 17 provinces and Kiev were struggling with power cuts. However, he said, engineers were working to repair the power grid and blackouts were becoming less frequent.
Russia has dismissed the remarks made by Ukrainian authorities about targeting civilian infrastructure. Moscow says only military-linked facilities are in the cross hairs.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday that a series of long-range and precision strikes the day before had “hit exactly the designated objects.” The ministry said Thursday’s strikes targeted missile-manufacturing facilities along with “fuel and energy infrastructure” associated with the military. “An arsenal with artillery weapons supplied by Western countries, prepared for shipment to the troops, was destroyed.”
Moscow blamed the blackouts and their civilian impact on Kiev's refusal to negotiate, and not on Russian missile attacks.
Zelensky on Friday dismissed the idea of a "short truce" with Russia, saying it would only make things worse. “Russia is now looking for a short truce, a respite to regain strength. Someone may call this the war's end, but such a respite will only worsen the situation.”
The Ukrainian president said earlier this week he was open to "genuine" negotiations with Russia that would restore Ukraine's borders.
Russian officials have repeatedly said they will not negotiate over territory that was annexed to the Russian Federation, including the former Ukrainian region of Crimea, which joined Russia in 2014.
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