KYIV: Russian attacks on nine regions of Ukraine knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of households and wounded at least 15 people, officials said Friday, as a new report showed that civilian casualties from Russia’s invasion have climbed steeply.
The latest aerial strikes on civilian targets came amid mounting fears that a sharp deterioration in relations between Ukraine and the United States this week could leave Ukraine further exposed to Russia’s escalating assaults with winter approaching.
Meanwhile, Russia’s military chief reported to President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the military has allocated the necessary assets to press its aerial campaign against Ukraine’s energy system.
Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid before cold weather arrives has been an annual feature of the war, aiming to wear down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heat and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in the coming months.
Ukraine on Thursday abandoned a brief truce on energy-related targets that it said Moscow didn’t heed despite US President Donald Trump’s demand for a ceasefire. The Kremlin said terms of an energy truce had not been set.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday attended a summit of European Union leaders who share his concerns about Russian aggression and Moscow’s wider plans on the continent. The leaders in Brussels applauded Zelensky when he entered the meeting room, vowed to maintain support for Ukraine and urged the US to put pressure on Putin.
Putin tells his generals to press on with offensive
Speaking Friday during a visit to military headquarters overseeing operations in Ukraine, Putin hailed Moscow’s gains, emphasizing that capturing the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Donetsk region remains a priority.
He also instructed the military to press on with its aerial campaign.
Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported that the military has launched a series of strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities and has the means to knock them out. He also said attacks on Ukrainian bridges, railways and data centers will continue.
September civilian casualties jump 85 percent higher than last year
Russia is blitzing not just Ukraine’s power grid but also apartment buildings, public transportation, cargo ships, data centers and grocery stores.
Ukrainian civilians are paying a high price for the escalating Russian attacks, the United Nations human rights office in Kyiv said in a monthly report published Friday.
At least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded last month, a total that is 85 percent higher than in September last year, the report said, noting that intensifying Russian attacks in October already have killed dozens of civilians, including children.
“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, the head of the UN office.