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Hundreds of thousands of people in northern Ukraine were without power and water Tuesday following a massive Russian missile and drone attack on the country’s energy grid.
After Russian airstrikes damaged power facilities in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, regional authorities reported that the city of Chernihiv was almost entirely without electricity. First responders had begun efforts to restore power, but warned that lingering drones have stalled repairs.
“Emergency crews in the Chernihiv region are unable to begin work on restoring power supply due to continuous attacks by Russian drones,” the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.
The overnight attacks also hit energy infrastructure in the neighboring Sumy region of Ukraine, which borders Russia.
Chernihiv, which is less than 100 miles from Kyiv, has been repeatedly harassed by Russian missiles and drones since the beginning of the war in 2022 and has faced more strikes recently as Moscow intensifies its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Chernihiv acting Mayor Oleksandr Lomako surmised that the attacks are increasing because winter is approaching and Russia wants to deprive Ukrainians of heat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed Mr. Lomako’s assertions, saying Russia is using the winter cold as a weapon and calling on the U.S. to provide Kyiv with sufficient long-range strike capabilities.
“Russia’s tactic is killing people and terror through cold. On the eve of winter, the Russians are striking our infrastructure and energy facilities literally every day. Only pressure on Russia can fix this and stop it. Only sufficient long-range capabilities in our defense bring Putin back to reality,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted on X.
A massive Russian missile and drone barrage cut power to Kyiv residents last week, leaving nearly 300,000 people without electricity for hours.
Mr. Zelenskyy traveled to Washington last week to discuss with President Trump the possible delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Mr. Trump denied Ukraine’s request for long-range missile support, arguing it would escalate tensions between Kyiv and Moscow.
Before Mr. Zelenskyy’s visit, Mr. Trump had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles would impede the already-strained peace process. The two leaders also agreed to a summit in Hungary, but no specific date has been announced.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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