Kyiv: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the UN Security Council to take action against Russia for airstrikes on civilian infrastructure that once again plunged Ukraine's cities into darkness and cold as winter approached. Is.
On Wednesday, Russia launched a missile barrage across Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of 10 people, the forced shutdown of nuclear power plants and a widespread interruption of water and electricity supplies.
“Although it has only been a day, we have already received 70 missiles. This is a recipe for Russian terror. All of this is damaging to our energy infrastructure.
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Hospitals, schools, transport and residential districts were all affected, Zelensky said via video link in the council chamber. According to him, Ukraine was anticipating "a very strong reaction" from the international community to Wednesday's airstrikes .
Since Russia is a veto member, the Council is unlikely to do anything in response to the appeal.
According to US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Russian President Vladimir Putin is "apparently weaponising the winter to inflict great suffering on the Ukrainian people". He continued by saying that the Russian president would "try to stabilize the country in subjection."
In response, Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzya complained that Zelensky's video appearance was against the Council's rules and dismissed "reckless threats and ultimatums" from Ukraine and its supporters in the West.
Nebenzya alleged that missiles fired by Ukrainian air defense systems, which hit civilian areas after being fired at Russian missiles, damage Ukraine's infrastructure and urged the West to stop providing air defense missiles to Ukraine.
One of the main targets of Wednesday's missile attacks was Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. "Today, three high-rise apartment buildings were targeted. Interior Minister Denis Monastirsky condoled the death of 10 people. The report could not be independently verified by Reuters.
As the Russian missiles closed in and Ukrainian air defense rockets tried to intercept them, explosions rang out across Kyiv. Air raid sirens also started ringing in the whole country in the alert issued across the country.
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"Our baby was napping. Two years old. She was covered up when she was sleeping. She's still alive, praise God," said a man, who identified himself only as Fyodor , while he was pulling a suitcase from a burning apartment building in Kyiv.
According to the governor of Kyiv, electricity and running water were cut off throughout the area of the city, where more than three million people live. Similar issues affected a large part of Ukraine, and some regions instituted emergency blackouts to help conserve and maintain energy.
Zelensky reported that more areas were receiving power and other services early Thursday. In a video address, he said that "energy experts, municipal workers and emergency workers are working around the clock."
Since October, as a Ukrainian counteroffensive has reclaimed territory from Russian occupiers in the east and south, Russia has admitted to targeting Ukraine's civilian energy grids away from the front lines.
Moscow claims its missile attacks are aimed at reducing Ukraine's combat capability and forcing it to negotiate. According to Kyiv, attacks on infrastructure qualify as war crimes because they were aimed at endangering civilians and weakening the will of the people.
In a previous video address shared on the Telegram messaging app, Zelensky promised that would not happen. We are an unbreakable people, so we will innovate and overcome everything, he said.
Washington unveiled a new $400 million aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday, which includes generators to help the country cope with power outages.
According to Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the more than 200 generators are "intended to support both civilian and military power needs to ease pressure on the grid." The package also includes more than 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition, according to a Pentagon statement.
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Sophisticated NASAMS air defense systems and ammunition for precision HIMARS rocket launchers, heavy machine guns with thermal imaging sights to intercept Russian drones, and much more. Ground fighting is still ongoing in the east, with Russia advancing its offensive along a section of the front line to the west.
According to Ukraine's General Staff, Russian forces reportedly attempted to advance on their primary targets in the Donetsk region, Bakhmut and Avdeevka.
Russian forces attempted to ignite Ukrainian positions by using incendiary weapons and shelling both areas, but according to the general staff, they had only partial success.
A group of Chechen fighters is among those engaged in combat with the Russians in Bakhmut. They are hoping that a Ukrainian victory will lead to a political upheaval in Russia and the overthrow of Chechnya's potent pro-Moscow leader.
"We are not engaging in combat merely for the sake of combat. We seek freedom and independence for our countries, a fighter who went by the nom de guerre Maga said.
The general staff reported that further south, Russian forces were entrenched on the Dnipro River's eastern bank and shelling regions on the opposite bank, including the recently reclaimed Ukrainian town of Kherson.
The battlefield accounts could not immediately be confirmed by Reuters. According to Putin, an artificial state carved out of Russia is being protected by Moscow through a "special military operation." The invasion is described as an unprovoked land grab by Ukraine and the West.
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In response, the West has provided Kyiv with cutting-edge military equipment, billions of dollars in financial aid, and waves of punitive sanctions against Russia.