Ukraine’s first snow as Russians attack gas production, WHO warns war winter threatens millions of lives | War Ukraine and Russia

Russia has been targeting Ukraine with missiles in recent days. Projectiles struck near Kiev and missile factories in Dnipro and Yusmash on Thursday, according to Prime Minister Denis Shmihal. Civilian targets were also reportedly hit in Dnipro.

LOOK. Kiev covered by snow carpet

Air raid sirens are sounding across the country for the second time this week because of the attacks. Large parts of Ukraine suffer from power outages due to the rocket attacks. Explosions were heard around Kiev as two missiles and two attack drones were shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire.

A top executive of the Ukrainian government has stressed in the media that Ukrainians do not have to flee the country for fear of a power outage. People without electricity often cannot heat their homes. After all, the gas boiler requires electricity. The deputy head of the president’s office, Kirilo Tymoshenko, said that “we have already gone through many different scenarios and I want to reassure everyone right away: there is absolutely no need to leave the country.”

Tymoshenko thus refutes a recent statement by the boss of the largest private energy company in the country, Maksim Timchenko of the company DTEK. He said in an interview with the BBC that Ukrainians should consider spending the winter abroad. In October, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk advised Ukrainian refugees abroad not to return to Ukraine until next spring.

The government said last week that the evacuation of Kiev or other Ukrainian cities remote from the frontline is not on the agenda. Roughly half of the country’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address today that planned and unplanned power outages were scattered in that regard. In Kiev, Odesa and other cities, the situation is very difficult, he said. Zelensky called on local administrators to continue to encourage residents and businesses to save electricity.

Roughly speaking, winter in Ukraine is from November 18 to March 12. On average, the maximum temperatures during the day are less than 4 degrees. January is the coldest. Then it generally does not get warmer than -1 degree. Protests were reported in Odesa against the blackout last weekend.

The head of the major Ukrainian energy company YASNO, Sergei Kovalenko, warned that residents of Ukraine will probably have to live with regular blackouts until at least the end of March. Technicians, meanwhile, are doing what they can to repair the damage to the power grid before the weather turns even more wintry. According to Kovalenko, Ukraine should be prepared for all possible winter scenarios, including prolonged power cuts. “Stock up on warm clothes and blankets and think about what you need to get through a long power outage. It’s better to do that now than to feel miserable,” said Kovalenko.

If Russian attacks do not cause new damage, the power shortage can be spread across the entire country. Then the interruptions last less long, it sounds. “Even if there are fewer interruptions now, I would like everyone to understand: Ukrainians will probably have to live with power interruptions at least until the end of March,” said Kovalenko.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that health care could no longer function normally if the electricity supply was lost. The WHO confirms that half of Ukraine’s energy network has been destroyed or damaged. A quarter of the population is without electricity.

The WHO says it has counted more than 700 attacks against health services buildings in Ukraine since the invasion began in February. That is a “manifest violation” of international humanitarian law, said CEO Hans Kluge. The hospitals have problems and need electrically powered equipment for research and care of patients or, for example, after childbirth.

“The damage to energy infrastructure is already having a devastating effect on the health system and the health of the population,” said Kluge. According to the director, this is the biggest attack on healthcare on European soil since the Second World War.

The winter cold will also push up the number of disorders. “Hundreds of hospitals and health institutions are therefore no longer fully operational. We expect an additional 2 to 3 million people to leave their homes in search of warmth and safety. They will face major health challenges, including respiratory infections such as Covid-19, the flu, and a serious risk of diphtheria and measles among under-vaccinated people.”

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