Ukraine war: Kyiv gets power back after Russian missiles plunge capital into darkness
Kyiv, Ukraine – The water and power supply in Kyiv has been mostly restored for all residents on Saturday after Russia's latest surge of missile attacks in Ukraine, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Telegram on Saturday.
Water, heating, and lighting systems were down in the Ukrainian capital on Friday after the heaviest bombardment in weeks by Russian forces.
Half of Kyiv citizens also have heating again, Klitschko added, saying: "We are working to restore heating to all citizens of the city."
Two-thirds of residents also have electricity again, he added. Nevertheless, he said, emergency shutdowns had to continue due to immense power shortages, and he urged people to save energy.
The metro had also resumed operations in the morning, Klitschko added, after the underground train network in Kyiv stopped operations due to the shelling, and served instead as a bunker.
Numerous other regions reported rocket fire, including Zaporizhzhya, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Poltava, Dniprotepetrovsk, and Kharkiv. Ukraine's air defenses managed to stop the majority of the missiles.
Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine also reported rocket fire. In the village of Lantratovka in the Luhansk region, at least 11 people were killed and 20 injured in shelling by Ukrainian forces, said the Russian state news agency Tass, citing regional authorities.
The Ukrainian military used US Himars rocket artillery in the attack, which targeted a school and several residential buildings. The information from either side of the conflict could not be independently verified.
Kyiv is asking for more modern air defense systems from the West to better protect itself.
The targeted attacks have caused widespread power cuts in many regions, affecting millions of people. The US has reportedly pledged to provide assistance to Ukraine's energy sector.
The Ukrainian government accuses Russia of "terror", saying that these actions have the sole aim of plunging the country into darkness and cold during the harsh winter.
Ukraine says Russia is trying to destabilize the EU
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned the latest Russian barrage.
Attempts to deprive the Ukrainian people of water, electricity, and heating are a deliberate attack on civilians, he told dpa in an interview.
"History has actually taught us that this kind of brutal attack against civilians doesn't weaken the will to resist," he said, and served only to strengthen the resolve to fight on.
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev earlier issued a fresh threat to attack NATO countries.
Armed forces and equipment in countries that are officially at war with Russia or are allies of the enemy are legitimate targets for attack, Medvedev - who is deputy head of the Russian Security Council - wrote on his Telegram channel.
"The leaders of NATO countries unanimously claim that their countries and the whole alliance are not fighting against Russia," he wrote, adding that this, in his view, was not true.
The European Union on Friday adopted a ninth round of sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine.
The punitive measures target Russian defense companies, banks, media broadcasters, and state officials to "push the Russian economy and war machine further off the rails," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
Kyiv has accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of attempting to destabilize the EU by forcing people to flee Ukraine and thus, cause a wave of migration.
Cover photo: REUTERS