Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—
Russia launched a barrage of missile strikes at Ukrainian cities on Monday as it accelerated its infrastructure attacks Across the country.
Explosions and air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv early Monday and 80% of residents were left without water – and many also lost power – following power outages caused by Russian strikes, said the mayor of the capital, Vitali Klitschko, on Telegram.
One of the strikes hit an energy installation that supplied 350,000 apartments in the capital, Klitschko said, adding that emergency services were trying to restore power and “stabilize the situation as soon as possible”.
Attacks on critical infrastructure in the central regions of Cherkasy and Kirovohrad, the eastern region of Kharkiv and the southern region of Zaphorizhzhia were also reported.
The wave of strikes comes after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Crimean city of Sevastopol over the weekend. Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014 and has controlled the territory ever since.
Klitschko urged residents of the capital to get water from shops and pumping stations after an attack on a nearby power station.
“Currently, due to damage to the energy facility near Kyiv, 80% of consumers in the capital remain without water supply,” he said on Telegram. “Just in case, we ask you to get water from the nearest pumps and outlets. Specialists are doing everything possible to return water to the apartments of Kyiv residents.
He later said supplies would be sent back to the capital’s east bank and part of the west bank within hours. He added that power in the Desnianskyi district had been “partially restored”.
Speaking to CNN on the ground in Kyiv, Yana Lysenko, 31, said: “Monday morning started horribly as usual. I have a 4-year-old so of course I feel stressed.
“We don’t have water at the moment, but we have electricity. We hope that the services will restore everything very quickly. Our spirit is very high and we are waiting for victory. Such terrorist actions aimed at water and electricity supply, I believe, no longer frighten people.
Viktor Halashan, 70, told CNN he remains positive despite no water supply.
“Having no water is fine, we can handle it,” he said, adding that he hopes “Ukrainian troops will bring us closer to victory soon.”
A local office worker, Oleksandr Nechepuriak, told CNN he was collecting water for 15 people.
“It’s important to keep (the) office running,” said Nechepuriak, who works in food production.
“We will deal with it,” he said, adding that there were “no other options.”
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko called the attacks “barbaric”, saying on Facebook: “Electrical substations, hydroelectric and heat-generating facilities were hit by rocket fire.”
He added: “As a result of this massive attack, there was a partial blackout and emergency power outage schedules were introduced for consumers in Kyiv, Cherkasy (and) Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, (and) Poltava. Regions.”
Water supply in Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second-largest city – was also affected after an infrastructure impact, while most metro services were disrupted, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram .
“The blow fell on a critical infrastructure facility, knocking out metro and ground electrical transportation,” he said. “At the moment, we have managed to launch the Kholodnohirsko-Zavodska (metro) line, and we have replaced trolleybuses and trams with buses.”
Terekhov said the engineers were “doing everything possible to restore the water supply to the homes of Kharkiv residents as soon as possible.”
Two missiles hit Kharkiv on Monday morning, the mayor previously said on Telegram.
And in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, a missile hit an industrial enterprise, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram.
“During the morning missile attack, two missiles were shot down (thanks to air defense forces) and one cruise missile hit an industrial enterprise,” he said. No casualties were reported.
Monday’s strikes hit 10 regions and damaged 18 facilities, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram.
“Their target was not military installations, but critical civilian infrastructure,” Shmyhal said. “Missiles and drones hit 10 regions, where 18 facilities were damaged, mostly energy-related.
He said “hundreds of settlements in seven regions” had lost power and engineers were “working at full capacity” to repair the damage.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched more than 50 cruise missiles at Ukraine on Monday and intercepted 44.
“At 7 a.m. on October 31, the Russian occupiers launched several waves of missile attacks against critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
“More than 50 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles were launched from the Tu-95/Tu-160 strategic aviation missile carrier aircraft in the northern Caspian Sea and the Volgodonsk region (region of Rostov) 44 cruise missiles were destroyed” by the Ukrainian army, the Air Force statement added.
At least 10 Russian missiles were shot down over Kyiv early Monday, regional police chief Andrii Nebytov said on Telegram.
“Kyiv region police are now discovering debris from rockets shot down by the occupiers in various areas of the region,” he said. “Air Defense Forces shot down at least 10 enemy missiles.”
Oleksii Kuleba, head of the Kyiv region’s military administration, said the strikes “hit critical infrastructure targets” and two people were injured, one seriously.
Monday’s missiles were launched by Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers that took off from Russia’s Rostov region and the Caspian Sea, a spokesman for the Command of Russia said on television. Ukrainian Air Force.
Yurii Ihnat said there had been “several waves of missile launches” and repeated that Ukraine had shot down “a very high percentage”.
Moscow defended the attacks. The Russian Defense Ministry said in Telegram on Monday that it had targeted Ukraine’s “military command and energy systems”.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued their strikes with high-precision, long-range air and sea weapons against Ukraine’s military command and energy systems,” he said. “All assigned objects have been hit.”
In recent weeks, Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and heating infrastructure.
Even before Monday’s strikes, the situation was serious. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said around four million Ukrainians had electricity restrictions after attacks on energy infrastructure that day.
The assault on infrastructure is part of a larger plan by President Vladimir Putin, Melinda Haring, deputy director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, told CNN last week.
“Putin’s game plan is obvious: he wants to make this the coldest and darkest winter in Ukraine’s history,” she said.
“It will continue to strike infrastructure networks in order to cut off Ukraine’s electricity and heat. Its kamikaze drone attacks are aimed at breaking the will of the Ukrainian people and spreading panic.
Monday’s attacks come after Russia suspended its participation in a United Nations-brokered grain deal seen as key to tackling global food shortages. Moscow announced on Saturday that it was leaving the agreement, accusing Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Crimea. Kyiv accused Russia of fabricating “fictitious terrorist attacks” and using the deal as “blackmail”.
In a regular call with reporters on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Black Sea grain deal is ‘risky’ and ‘dangerous’ if Russia cannot guarantee security of navigation.
When asked if it was possible for the grain agreement to continue without Russia’s participation, Peskov said that without Russia guaranteeing the safety of navigation in these areas, “such an agreement is difficult to achieve”.