The War Between Russia and Ukraine: Live Updates – The New York Times

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was grappling with energy supply problems as Moscow relentlessly seeks the country’s infrastructure — a crisis that is growing in urgency as temperatures drop to 30 degrees Fahrenheit and winter approaches.

Nearly half of Ukraine’s power grid has been destroyed by recent Russian missile strikes.

In the face of recent setbacks on the battlefield and the wintry weather that will make it more difficult to carry out attacks, Russia seems to be aiming to make the cold months as unbearable as possible Not only for Ukrainian troops, but also for civilians far from the front lines, trying to undermine morale.

Mr. Zelensky said in an address to the nation late Friday that 17 regions are facing a “difficult situation with regard to energy supplies,” but that power utility workers are working to restore power. He also said that there were fewer emergency shutdowns that day.

Russia Air attacks on the power grid This comes as Russian forces withdraw to the eastern side of the Dnipro River, across from the city of Kherson, on the southern front and winter digs, according to Britain’s Defense Intelligence Agency. Russian troops left The trail of destruction is in their wakewith a shortage of water, energy and food.

Zelensky said officials had set up centers for people in Kherson to charge their phones and warm up.

“We know that it is very difficult for the people, because the occupiers destroyed everything before they fled,” he said. “But we’ll tie it all up, take it all back.”

Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, noted on Friday that on Tuesday alone Russia launched 100 missiles at Ukrainian cities, hitting vulnerable points in the network, such as power plants and substations.

“Almost half of our energy systems are decommissioned,” he said at a news conference with a visiting European Commission official. He described Russia’s strategy as “fighting the civilian population and depriving them of light, water supplies, heat and communications during the winter”.

The United Nations has said that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy system could cause a humanitarian catastrophe.

Mr. Shmyhal said Ukraine needed more support from its European allies to help its energy sector get through the winter, including money to buy gas and additional equipment.

His estimate that nearly half the grid is down was higher than the assessment Mr. Zelensky gave on November 1, when the president said 30 to 40 percent of the country’s critical energy infrastructure had been damaged in waves of drones and missiles. strikes. Since then, Russia has implemented More attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine.

Utility workers have been in a race against time, trying to fix the system as supplies run low and as Moscow continues to batter it with strikes.