According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has sufficient missiles to conduct additional massive strikes against Ukraine, but Ukrainians will resist.
Engineers continue to restore power to homes, hospitals, and infrastructure following Friday’s ninth wave of Russian attacks.
The attacks have targeted civilian infrastructure, as temperatures plunge below freezing in many locations.
Moscow has been accused by Kyiv of employing winter as a weapon.
Saturday, portions of the Ukrainian capital remained without electricity and heat, according to Vitali Klitschko, the city’s mayor. The city’s water supply has now been entirely restored.
Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, has regained power after being without electricity for many hours as a result of Friday’s round of strikes that targeted energy installations.
According to local reports, as many as nine power plants were attacked by 76 missiles and drones launched by Russian forces.
Kharkiv’s mayor said the city suffered “colossal” destruction.
Anastasija, a resident, told that the strikes began on Friday morning.
“In a matter of minutes, the lights started blinking,” the mother of a two-month-old child stated.
“Within 10 seconds, the power went off, everything froze, and that was that.”
According to Yuriy Sak, an expert at the Defense Ministry, Russia’s regular attacks have made it more difficult to repair damage to the electricity system.
In the city of Kryvyi Rih, a residential structure was hit, resulting in the deaths of a 64-year-old woman, a 30-year-old couple, and a one-year-old boy whose body was discovered overnight. Another fatality occurred in Kherson. In Kyiv, the city’s metro was rendered inoperable.
The alarm was raised throughout Ukraine on Friday, and Commander-in-Chief General Valeriy Zaluzhny said that air defenses intercepted 60 of the 76 launched missiles, the majority of which were cruise missiles.
Officials from the city of Kyiv reported that over 40 missiles had been fired toward the capital alone, one of the largest barrages since Russia’s invasion on February 24.
Officials stated that 37 were taken down by air defenses.
Oksana, a 42-year-old resident of the capital, remarked, “It’s incredibly stressful, but I’m used to it now.” “I do not want this for our children; I do not want them to live in basements or shelters.”
In addition to Poltava and Kremenchuk, Russia’s strikes cut power in the bordering north-eastern Sumy area and the central cities of Poltava and Kremenchuk.
Since the wave of attacks began on 10 October, Russia has launched over a thousand missiles and Iranian-made attack drones.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence believes there has been an “uptick” in Russia’s campaign of long-range strikes against Ukraine’s key infrastructure in recent days.
UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk warned Thursday that more attacks on electricity facilities could “lead to a further catastrophic deterioration in the humanitarian situation and ignite more displacement”.
“I’m angry,” said Yelyzaveta, 21. “They are killing our way of life. We are now acclimated to it. The most significant fact is that Russia is not present.”
And Anastasia stated that life is becoming increasingly challenging as winter approaches.
“When it’s daytime, it’s manageable and I can manage the situation, but when it becomes dark, my problems begin since I need to see well to measure baby formula and care for the baby – these are distressing,” she added.
“Moreover, the fact that we are without power produces a great deal of anxiety and worry. Therefore, we are merely surviving the night, and while the morning brings some improvement, we cannot compare it to a typical day.”
