Blackouts In Ukraine After Russian Strikes Destroyed 30% Power Stations: President Zelensky

Russia-Ukraine War: The barrage of missile strikes has left parts of Kyiv and other cities with no power and water.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ( Image Source :Getty )

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russian forces "destroyed" a third of Ukraine's power stations in repeated missile strikes targeting the war-torn country's energy infrastructure. The barrage of missile strikes has left parts of Kyiv and other cities with no power and water.

Zelensky said the recent developments have left  "no space left for negotiations with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin".

Zelensky wrote on Twitter, "Another kind of Russian terrorist attacks: targeting Ukraine's energy and critical infrastructure. Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Putin's regime."

Another kind of Russian terrorist attacks: targeting 🇺🇦 energy & critical infrastructure. Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Putin's regime. @United24media pic.twitter.com/LN4A2GYgCK

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2022

Zelensky's remarks come a day after Kyiv was hit by "kamikaze" drones. The unmanned drones, believed to be Iranian-made, killed at least five people in the capital and four in the northern city of Sumy, and struck critical infrastructure, with power outages reported in hundreds of towns and villages.

Many settlements in Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, and parts of Dnipro city in central Ukraine were without electricity, AFP reported.

However, the Kremlin said it had "no information" on using Iranian drones in Ukraine after Kyiv and the West claimed Moscow used Tehran's weapons in deadly strikes, news agency AFP reported. 

#UPDATE The Kremlin said it had "no information" on its forces using Iranian drones in Ukraine after Kyiv and the West said Moscow used Tehran's weapons for deadly strikes pic.twitter.com/TlENdKeaVS

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 18, 2022

In some cities, Ukrainians are buying power generators and gas burners. Some towns are already facing rolling blackouts.

Since October, Russian troops have intensified long-range strikes targeting military and energy facilities across Ukraine, aiming to "cause widespread damage to Ukraine's energy distribution network," according to the UK Defense Ministry.

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As Russia has suffered battlefield setbacks since August, it has highly likely gained a greater willingness to strike civilian infrastructure in addition to Ukrainian military targets.

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) October 18, 2022

Earlier in the day, Russia attacked civilian infrastructure sites in Dnipro, Kyiv, and Zhytomyr.

According to Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in the city of Dnipro twice.

According to the governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Valentyn Reznichenko, some districts of Dnipro, as well as the towns of Synelnykove and Vasylkivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, have been left without electricity since the attack. There are also problems with water supply on Dnipro's left bank, The Kyiv Independent reported. 

On October 16, Zelensky urged Ukrainians, particularly those in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, to reduce their evening electricity consumption in light of Russia's recent massive strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Aside from causing damage to civilian infrastructure, Russian troops destroyed a residential building in Mykolaiv overnight, killing one civilian, and struck an industrial enterprise in Kharkiv, The Kyiv Independent reported.

(With Inputs From Agencies)