Russia fired about 70 cruise missiles at power supplies in Ukrainian cities on Wednesday. Kyiv, Charkiv and Odesa, among others, were without electricity and water. Due to the damage to the power grid, Ukraine shut down three nuclear power plants for safety reasons. The power stations are crucial for the country’s power supply.
The Russian missile strikes also caused massive power outages in Moldova, which is connected to the Ukrainian power grid. Moldova’s infrastructure minister said on Wednesday that half of the country is without power. Last week, Moldova also suffered a power outage due to Russian attacks on Ukraine.
After six weeks of rocket attacks, more than half of Ukraine’s energy network is down. All thermal and hydroelectric power stations in the country have been damaged, the Ukrainian grid operator said. The grid has already been so badly damaged that the population has been warned of a whole winter of blackouts.
The greatest danger is that the heating fails during the winter. The chance of that is increasing. Ukraine is struggling to keep water pumps, which depend on electricity, working. On Wednesday, they fell out in many places. Last week, 53 apartment buildings in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk were without heating.
Read about the Alchevsk winter disaster here: what can happen if the heating fails in Ukraine.
30 degrees below zero
The consequences of the attacks are becoming life-threatening now that winter has set in. The first snow fell last week and the temperature in the north of the country has dropped below freezing. The temperature can drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius in the coming months.
The Ukrainian government has announced a network of heated refuges to help the population through the winter. on an online map people can find buildings, such as schools, train stations and cafes, that serve as ‘unbreakable places’ in case of utility failures: the buildings are supplied with electricity and heat by generators. Also available free of charge at the points: internet, drinking water and medicines.
But the World Health Organization (WHO) does not trust the government to prevent evacuations. The organization warns that three million people could flee their homes in search of warmth. The WHO also says Ukrainian hospitals are suffering from a lack of water and electricity. A stable power supply is necessary for blood banks and ventilators, among other things.
Generators
Ukraine is massively stocking mobile generators to keep hospitals running. The government says it imports and receives 8.5 thousand generators per day as a donation.
President Zelensky calls on the people to persevere and not to succumb to Russia’s attempt to break the will of the people to fight on: ‘If we survive this winter, and we certainly will, we will win this war. ‘