Fear of attack on Kyiv
Russia bombs parts of Ukraine in the dark and cold
March 31, 2024, 6:10 a.m
In order to paralyze the population’s supply of electricity and heat, Russia is increasingly attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Several regions are struggling with massive electricity shortages. Meanwhile, it is the second anniversary of the liberation of the Kiev region. However, the capital is by no means safe, warns Mayor Klitschko.
As a result of Russian attacks, emergency power shutdowns have again occurred in several Ukrainian regions. The electricity supplier DTEK and regional authorities reported shortages in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Poltava regions on Saturday evening. Kharkiv in the east, which is currently particularly hard hit by Russian shelling, also continues to have problems with its energy supply.
In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke of “heinous attacks” by the Russian army and once again urgently asked for more international help in protecting his country’s energy infrastructure. “We have sent the necessary signals and specific requests to all our partners who have the necessary air defense systems and missiles,” he said. “America, Europe and other partners know exactly what we need.”
After more than two years of aggressive war, Russia’s army is now increasingly targeting the Ukrainian energy infrastructure in order to paralyze the population’s supply of electricity and heat. Kiev therefore also speaks of “energy terror”. On Sunday night there was another air alert in all parts of the country.
“Kiev remains a target for Putin”
Two years after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region around Kiev, Mayor Vitali Klitschko sees the danger of a renewed offensive by the attackers towards the Ukrainian capital. “Kiev was a target and remains a target for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin because the capital is the heart of the country,” Klitschko told Bild am Sonntag. At the same time, he emphasized: “We know this and we are much better prepared than we were two years ago for possible new attacks.” Klitschko said that all scenarios always have to be taken into account.
After the Russians withdrew from the Kiev suburbs in spring 2022, a massacre of hundreds of civilians in the small town of Butscha became known. It is considered one of the worst crimes ever in this war, which Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin started on February 24, 2022.