A Russian “massive attack” was underway on Monday morning against energy facilities in several Ukrainian regions, leaving parts of kyiv without electricity, two days after an attack on the Russian fleet in Crimea, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine with the help from the UK.
To the north of the capital, about fifteen soldiers and police blocked traffic and prohibited access to the road which leads to an affected site, noted an AFP team.
According to a soldier interviewed by AFP, “three missiles hit their target a hundred meters away. We must not stay there, it is dangerous because there may be other strikes”.
“Russian terrorists have once again launched a massive attack against energy system facilities in a number of regions,” said an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
According to the Ukrainian army, “more than 50 cruise missiles were launched” at Ukraine “using aircraft” from the northern Caspian Sea and the Russian region of Rostov.
In kyiv, at least five explosions were heard early Monday by AFP journalists.
“Part of kyiv is without electricity and in some areas without water, following the Russian strikes,” the mayor of the city, Vitaly Klitschko, quickly indicated on Telegram.
“Electricians are working to restore electricity supply to a damaged facility that supplies around 350,000 apartments in Kyiv,” he said.
The capital had already been hit on October 10 and 17, in particular by Iranian-made Russian drones, which had hit essential energy infrastructure.
“False Pretext”
These new massive strikes come after the announcement this weekend by Moscow to suspend its participation in the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, vital for the world food supply.
Two cargo ships loaded with grain, however, left Ukrainian ports on Monday and took the humanitarian maritime corridor bound for Turkey, according to the specialized site Marine traffic.
Twelve cargo ships are due to leave Ukrainian ports during the day and four others are heading for them, one of which, under the Turkish flag, has already set sail, said the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), responsible for overseeing the agreement. on Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.
On Saturday morning, a massive drone attack targeted Russian Black Sea Fleet military and civilian ships stationed in Sevastopol Bay in annexed Crimea, angering Moscow. A military boat was hit.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has accused London of having helped kyiv in “the implementation of this terrorist act”, which the United Kingdom has strongly denied.
kyiv, for its part, denounced on Sunday grain exports that had become “impossible” due to the Russian blockade reinstated by Russia, describing the Russian accusations as a “false pretext”.
In his daily video intervention, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday evening that “Russia is solely responsible for the fact that food will become more expensive in West Africa and East Asia. Russia is the reason why people in Ethiopia, Somalia or Yemen are going to face catastrophic shortages.”
The United States and the European Union condemned the Russian withdrawal from this essential agreement concluded in July under the aegis of the UN and Turkey, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, saying he was “deeply concerned”.
US President Joe Biden denounced a “scandalous” Russian decision. “There was no reason for them to do this,” he said.
In Istanbul, the CC said that the Russian delegation participating in the inspections of vessels carrying Ukrainian grain was withdrawing “for an indefinite period”.