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kyiv’s water and heating systems were back up and running after being briefly shut down Saturday amid intense cold in the Ukrainian capital, as engineers worked to stabilize a power grid pushed to the brink by a campaign of Russian strikes this week.
Friday’s attacks “caused significant civilian casualties and deprived millions of Ukrainians of essential services, including electricity, heat and water, at a time when humanitarian needs are acute,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general.
Russia has regularly carried out intense bombardments on Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor on February 24, 2022, causing daily power outages lasting several hours in major cities.
Heating and water infrastructure have also been hit hard in recent weeks, a growing concern with temperatures already well below freezing and expected to plunge further in the coming week.
The city administration said around noon local time on Saturday that state grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered kyiv’s electricity system to be shut down and that water and heating systems, as well as electrified public transport, would stop operating.
WATCH | Latest destruction in Kyiv:
An elderly person in kyiv wonders why “the whole world cannot overpower one man,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Less than an hour later, Ukrenergo said engineers had managed to remedy the immediate problem, caused by damage from previous Russian strikes, and power was back up and running in parts of kyiv.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the heating system, which in Ukrainian cities is centralized and pumps hot water to homes through pipes, was also back and that she expected the heat supply to be fully restored on Saturday.
However, she said the energy situation in the capital remained difficult as the grid was badly damaged and people were using more electric heaters because of the cold.
Around 6,000 apartment buildings in kyiv were left without heat after the latest Russian missile and drone attack on Friday, as bitter cold set in. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said half of those buildings had heating supplies restored on Saturday before being cut off again due to a power grid problem.
Ukraine counterattacks, Russia also facing blackout
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said Saturday that 600,000 residents were without electricity, heat and water after a Ukrainian missile strike.
In a statement posted on the Telegram messaging service, Vyacheslav Gladkov said work was underway to restore supplies but the situation was “extremely difficult.”
Footage filmed by Reuters in the town of Belgorod showed street lights out and residents using hand torches and car headlights to navigate.
The Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and had a population of 1.5 million before the war, has been regularly attacked by kyiv’s forces since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops to be sent to Ukraine in February 2022.
Temperatures across most of Russia and Ukraine have been well below freezing in recent days.
Volgograd oil depot targeted, officials say
A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at an oil depot in southern Russia’s Volgograd region, regional authorities said Saturday.
No casualties were immediately reported, regional governor Andrei Bocharov said in a Telegram message posted on the local administration channel. The message did not specify the damage but said people living near the depot may need to be evacuated.
WATCH | Russia targets Ukraine with hypersonic missile:
Russia used a new hypersonic missile to strike western Ukraine, a clear warning to kyiv’s NATO allies. This is only the second time that this missile has been used during this war which has lasted for almost four years. CBC’s Briar Stewart explains.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to continue its large-scale invasion.
Russia wants to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deprive civilians of access to heat, electricity and running water, in what kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
Saturday’s attack came a day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight Friday, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least four people in the capital.
Separately, Russia this week fired a powerful hypersonic missile at a target in Ukraine, near the border with NATO member Poland, in what kyiv’s European allies described Friday as an attempt to intimidate them from supporting Ukraine.
