Russian bombing has damaged “almost half” of Ukraine’s power grid since October, leaving many cities without power, a period that coincides with falling temperatures.
“Almost half of our energy system was out of order,” said Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Chmygal this Friday (18th) at a press conference in Kyiv together with Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.
To deal with this situation, Chmygal asked for “additional help” from the European Union for “purchasing additional quantities of gas”.
Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October, and the Russian Defense Ministry has ensured that all targets, both military and energy, have been destroyed. The latest attacks took place on Thursday (17th) and coincided with the first snowfall in the country.
Authorities warned of “difficult” days, and Ukrainian President Volodmir Zelenskyy said more than 10 million users were without power.
“Premeditated Murder”
For its part, Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of committing a “war crime” after videos began circulating on social media showing alleged executions of Russian soldiers by Ukrainian soldiers.
“No one will be able to portray the deliberate and systematic killing of more than 10 immobilized Russian soldiers […]with direct shots to the head, as a ‘tragic exception,'” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
By late afternoon, Ukraine had not responded to these allegations.
Kyiv has repeatedly claimed that the Russian army committed “war crimes” and “atrocities” during its occupation of part of the capital region in March and recently liberated parts of Kharkiv and Kherson.
Ukraine’s parliamentary commissioner for human rights affairs, Dmytro Lubynets, said on Thursday the “scale” of the torture cases in Kherson was “appalling”. The city, capital of the region of the same name, was recaptured a week ago by Ukrainian troops who launched a counteroffensive at the end of the summer.
“The Russians not only killed and mined, they also looted our cities,” said senior Ukrainian Presidency official Kyrylo Tymoshenko.