Ukraine has cut light usage to save electricity after nearly 30% of its power plants were destroyed by missile or drone strikes by Russian forces.
The measures were announced this Thursday (20). Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged people, businesses and businesses to save as much as possible on lighting and advertising.
“Even small savings by each family will help stabilize the country’s energy system,” he said.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been bombed for months. The subway operator has announced that it will increase train spacing to save electricity.
1 of 1 A camera on a vehicle’s dashboard captured the moment an explosion hit the city of Dnipro, Ukraine.
A camera on a vehicle’s dashboard captured the moment an explosion hit the city of Dnipro, Ukraine.
After meeting with energy companies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they are preparing all possible scenarios for the winter and are working on creating mobile power supply points for critical infrastructure.
In order to combat the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south and east, Russia launched a bombing campaign against infrastructure last week. According to the Ukrainians and their allies, Iranmade drones were used for this.
Russia and Iran deny using the drones, but the European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Iranian generals and a company accused of supplying the weapons. The UK maintained these measures.
Ukraine celebrated the bloc’s quick response. The Russians, on the other hand, accused Western countries of wanting to put pressure on Iran.
Belarus announces joint power
Belarus, which borders Ukraine and is an ally of Russia, is stepping up its role in the conflict after announcing a joint military force with Moscow last week.
However, the Ukrainian authorities said they saw an “increasing” risk that Russia would open another front from Belarus.
The country, which is allied with Moscow, was already serving as a base for Russian troops when the invasion of Ukraine began at the end of February.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday imposed martial law on four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.
In this way, the Russian authorities can strengthen the power of the military in these areas, impose curfews, restrict freedom of movement and ban public gatherings.
In one of the annexed areas, Kherson, proRussian officials ordered the region to be evacuated in the face of pressure from the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
This Thursday, about 15,000 people were taken to the other bank of the Dnieper, which runs past the city of Kherson, the capital of the region of the same name.
“Believe me, everything will be fine. The Kherson region is now forever free from Nazism,” said Kiril Stremeusov, the proRussian ruler who came to power. He said Dnipro, Odessa and Mikolayiv oblasts would be liberated “soon”.
Overall, the occupation authorities have planned to evacuate 60,000 civilians from Kherson in the coming days.
For Kyiv, this is a “mass deportation” aimed at changing “the ethnic composition of the occupied territory,” according to Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s Security and National Defense Council.
According to television footage on Thursday, Putin visited a training camp for soldiers stationed in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow.
The counteroffensive that allowed Ukraine to regain large areas in the east and south of the country has recently gained strength on its southern flank.
In the areas recaptured from Kyiv, residents begin reconstruction work. Many still depend on humanitarian aid to survive.
Besides, nothing works,” laments Ivan Zakharchenko, a 70yearold resident who is awaiting help in Izium and recovered a month ago.
The suffering caused by the war was recognized by the European Parliament, which on Wednesday awarded this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought “to the brave people of Ukraine”.