In the capital Kiev, which was the target of a particularly large number of rockets, the lights, water and heating went out on Friday. There were also prolonged power cuts in other regions. The energy supplier Ukrenergo has declared an emergency state for the electricity grid. It was the ninth wave of rocket attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
At the same time, Russian troops are increasing their defense capabilities against the threat of Ukrainian attacks, according to information from Western secret services. The former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, is now also openly threatening attacks on NATO countries.
Heavy attacks turn off the lights in cities
According to the Ukrainian air defense system, nearly 80 percent of the missiles were intercepted during the Russian missile strike. “This morning the enemy fired 76 missiles from the Caspian and Black Seas at critical infrastructure objects,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valeriy Zalushnyy wrote in the Telegram news service. These are 72 cruise missiles and four guided missiles. 60 were shot down.
According to the Kiev military administration, the main blow was aimed at the capital. Of the 40 missiles, 37 were intercepted over the city of three million. One person was injured in the process. The Ukrainian government accuses Russia of “terrorism” – aiming to plunge the country into darkness and cold.
As a result of the recent shelling, the electricity shortage in the country has increased significantly, according to electricity supplier Ukrenergo. Hospitals, the water supply and thermal power plants and sewage treatment plants should be supplied with electricity as a priority, it said.
In the capital Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said additional facilities with autonomous power supply should be opened for emergencies. In such points, people can charge their mobile phones or power banks powered by generators. Due to the shelling, the metro in Kiev stopped running and served as a bunker. The people, who often find themselves in the cold and darkness, were made aware again of the public shelters and warm spots in the country.
Ex-President Medvedev threatens to attack NATO countries
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has threatened attacks against NATO countries. Forces and objects in countries that are officially at war with Russia or allies of the enemy are legitimate targets for attack, Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday. The 57-year-old also took to NATO: “The leaders of the NATO states unanimously claim that their countries and the entire alliance are not fighting against Russia.” That is not true.
According to Medvedev, in addition to the enemy’s political leadership and forces and their technology, objects of military and civilian infrastructure, such as bridges and energy supplies, are legitimate targets of attacks.
Putin meets ruler Lukashenko in Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet ruler Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk this Monday on his first visit to Belarus in years. The Kremlin announced on Friday that the strategic partnership between the two countries, which form a union state, as well as regional and international issues should be discussed.
During the war in Ukraine, Belarus made its military bases available for attacks on Ukraine. Several members of the Russian government would also take part in the trip. Belarus is economically dependent on Russia, Lukashenko lives on Putin’s loans.
London discovers Russian preparations for trench warfare
According to British military experts, Russian invasion forces in Ukraine are increasingly relying on antiquated trench warfare. This is according to the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London on the war in Ukraine on Friday. Accordingly, Russian forces are building extensive defenses all along the front line with a focus on the northern sector around the town of Svatove in Luhansk Oblast.
“Russian designs follow traditional military plans for trenching, largely unchanged since World War II. Such structures are likely to be vulnerable to modern, precise, indirect attacks,” the statement said.
Lithuania buys several missile launchers from the US
Against the background of the Russian offensive war against Ukraine, Lithuania continues to rearm: the Baltic EU and NATO country buys eight US Himars multiple rocket launchers with ammunition and equipment. The Ministry of Defense in Vilnius announced on Friday that a purchase contract worth about 495 million dollars (about 465 million euros) has been signed. Delivery of the first missile systems is scheduled for 2025. Lithuania borders Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia’s ally Belarus.
The war in Ukraine is seen as a direct threat to national security in the Baltic state. The Baltic state in northeastern Europe has therefore massively increased its military spending and upgraded its armed forces.
Emergency medical teams begin work in recaptured areas
Several emergency medical teams have gone to work in areas of Ukraine recently recaptured from Kiev. Teams supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) are now being deployed in Kharkiv, Kherson and Mykolaiv, among others, to treat emergency patients and ensure basic health care, the WHO Regional Office for Europe said on Friday.
The seven teams so far each consist of a doctor, two nurses, a traumatologist and a driver. In total, a maximum of 25 emergency teams must be prepared for an operation. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the health care of the people of the country has been seriously affected.
(SDA)