New Delhi: Critical infrastructure across Ukraine was pounded by more than a dozen Russian missiles on Saturday affecting 1.4 million Ukrainian households with electricity cuts, international media reports.
Ukraine’s air force command reported that 33 missiles had been fired at Ukraine on Saturday morning, and that 18 of those had been shot down, reports Reuters.
Since Oct 10, Russia has launched a series of devastating salvos at Ukraine’s power infrastructure, which have hit at least half of its thermal power generation and up to 40% of the entire system, the report said.
Citing Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy chief of staff for President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Kyiv Independent tweeted: “Russian attacks cut electricity to over 1.4 million Ukrainian households.”
⚡️Official: Russian attacks cut electricity to over 1.4 million Ukrainian households.
The information was provided by Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy chief of staff for President Volodymyr Zelensky.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 22, 2022
Tymoshenko said that as of Saturday afternoon, more than a million people across Ukraine were without power, with 672,000 of those in the western region of Khmelnytskyi alone.
Local officials in regions across Ukraine began reporting strikes on energy facilities and power outages, shortly after daybreak on Saturday.
Governors advised residents to stock up on water in case of cut-offs.
State grid operator Ukrenergo said the attacks targeted transmission infrastructure in western Ukraine, but that power supply restrictions were being put in place in ten regions across the entire country, including in the capital, Kyiv, reports Reuters.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of Kyiv’s city administration, Petro Panteleev, warned Russian strikes could leave Ukraine’s capital without power and heat for “several days or weeks”.
