By Robert Becker and Philip Fabian
After the successful counter-offensive by the Ukrainian troops, Russia is now taking revenge – according to the motto: If Putin’s army doesn’t win, the people should suffer.
The new terror tactic: missile attacks against power plants! The result: large-scale power outages that put entire areas – and millions of civilians – in darkness. No light, no heat, no internet and even no water as the pumps run on electricity.
The eastern Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk are completely without electricity, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter.
“Russian terrorists remain terrorists,” Zelenskyy wrote. His adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said that one of the largest thermal power plants in the country was hit in Kharkiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Off/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
In his speech, the President of Ukraine went on to say: Life without electricity, gas, water and food is not as frightening for Ukrainians as life under Russian rule…
According to eyewitness reports, the Russians bombed out a blackout in Kharkiv – the second largest Ukrainian city. Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities reported power outages in the city of Kharkiv and in the Donetsk and Sumy regions. AFP reporters also reported power outages in the city of Kramatorsk.
In the meantime, there was an air alert throughout Ukraine. Some residents reported explosion noises on social networks.
Ukrainian authorities blame Russia:
︎ The governor of the Kharkiv region stated that Russian attacks on “important infrastructure” had interrupted the power and water supply. In addition, fire broke out in some places.
︎ The governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region accused the Russian troops of attacking “energy infrastructure” to avenge their “defeat on the battlefield”.
︎ The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications announced via Twitter that it was probably an act of terrorism by Russian troops. The target of the attacks is thermal power station No. 5. It also says: “This has led to power outages in the Kharkiv, Sumy and Poltava oblasts. Electricians are working to restore power as soon as possible.”
︎ As the Ukrainian general staff confirmed to BILD, the power failed “most likely due to enemy fire”.
“This is a hideous and cynical revenge of the Russian aggressor for the achievements of our army,” Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
The power supply is currently a difficult topic in general: early on Sunday morning, the last reactor of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was taken off the grid, so that the power plant no longer generates electricity.
In the past few days, the Ukrainian army had recaptured numerous towns and cities in eastern Ukraine from Russian troops. On Saturday, the Russian army surprisingly announced that it would “regroup” its forces from parts of the eastern Kharkiv region further south to the Donetsk region. A map published by Moscow on Sunday showed that Russian troops were largely withdrawing from the area.