Kyiv targeted for third time in a week, 6,000 buildings with no power
Cars light the way in an almost totally blacked-out downtown Kyiv on Tuesday night as the Ukrainian capital is gripped by severe power outages from Russian drone and missile strikes targeting its energy infrastructure that have intensified in recent days. Photo by Maxym Marusenko/EPA
Jan. 14 (UPI) — Ukrainian air defenses were in action around Kyiv on Wednesday morning as Russian forces launched another mass drone attack targeting the city’s already ravaged power and heating infrastructure with multiple explosions heard downtown.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that following the raid — the third major attack in five days — 6,000 buildings, about half of all buildings, were without power amid freezing temperatures.
Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk said Tuesday that Russia was “going all in” to take out Ukraine‘s energy infrastructure after mass attacks targeting power and gas facilities overnight Monday and Jan. 9.
The state-run electricity network operator Ukrenergo said earlier that 70% of Kyiv had no electricity following Monday’s attack.
Senior Ukrainian officials from President Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky on down, have said the attacks on Kyiv and other major cities have no military value but are part of a concerted effort by Moscow to “break” the will of Ukrainians by depriving them of the ability to keep warm during the harsh Ukrainian winter.
The overnight temperature in Kyiv dipped to -2 degrees Frahrenhreit.
The situation led Klitschko to appeal on Friday to residents with someplace else to go to get out of Kyiv temporarily to relieve pressure on emergency services and hospitals, as well as engineering crews scrambling to repair energy infrastructure and keep what remains working.
One couple with a 1-year-old child told the BBC they were preparing to leave for the home of the wife’s parents outside Kyiv on Friday because they were struggling to stay warm and the intermittent power supply meant they were unable to charge their batteries sufficiently.
State-run Ukrainian Railways has begun providing static trains for people with no power at home to get some respite. Dubbed “Invincibility Trains,” the trains spend their days sitting at suburban station platforms with their engines idling, providing heat and water for residents.
As she watched her son play with toys donated by international charities, a woman told the BBC that the train was a safe space to escape to from her 17th-floor apartment, which was without electricity or water and where the elevator was out.
