Ukraine curbs nationwide power usage

Ukraine has restricted electricity usage across the country due to expected power shortages, following a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed some power plants in recent days.

Power supply will be restricted between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Thursday, government officials and the grid operator Ukrenergo said. Authorities have urged Ukrainians to reduce their power use in the evenings.

The operator also appealed to Ukrainians to stock up on water and ensure they have warm socks and blankets and charge all electrical devices before the power cut.

“We do not rule out that with the onset of cold weather, we will ask for your help more often,” Ukrenergo said, adding that there had been more attacks on power facilities in the past 10 days than in the whole period since Russia’s invasion began on February 24.

Zelensky: Russian airstrikes destroyed 30% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in single week

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian airstrikes have destroyed 30 percent of his country’s energy infrastructure in the past week and have caused “massive blackouts” across Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his Twitter account, “Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.”

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world, was under almost constant strikes for weeks earlier this year, with Ukraine accusing Russia of storing heavy weapons in the plant and Moscow denying the allegation.

“We are preparing for all kinds of scenarios in view of the winter season. We assume that Russian terror will be directed at energy facilities until, with the help of partners, we are able to shoot down 100% of enemy missiles and drones,” said Zelensky in his Wednesday night video address.

Western states have been supplying Ukraine with advanced weapons to enhance its air and missile defense capabilities in a move that Moscow says would only draw out the conflict.

Leaders of the 27 EU member states will discuss options for more support to Ukraine, including energy equipment, helping restore power supply, and long-term financing to rebuild the country at their two-day summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Ukraine will receive anti-drone systems soon: NATO

NATO says it will deliver anti-drone systems to Ukraine in the coming days to help it fend off Russian aerial attacks, including those carried out with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

On October 10, Putin announced a shift in the military operations in Ukraine, shortly after Russian troops launched massive long-range missile strikes across Ukraine, alleging that Kiev had masterminded a number of “terrorist attacks” against key Russian infrastructure over the past several months, including the Crimean Bridge bombing attack.

Separately on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s emergency services, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, said that over 1,100 Ukrainian towns and villages had been left without power after 10 days of Russian strikes against energy facilities across the country.

During the past 10 days, Russia carried out around “190 mass strikes with missiles, kamikaze drones and artillery in 16 Ukrainian regions and in the city of Kiev,” he said.

“For now, 1,162 settlements in Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lugansk, Mykolaiv, Kherson regions remain cut off from electricity,” Khorunzhyi added.

EU provides €5bn more for Ukraine despite bloc's cost of living crisis worsening

Millions of ordinary EU citizens are at their wits

Prior to the conflict in Ukraine, Russia was the EU’s largest gas supplier, responsible for about 45% of the bloc’s gas imports. Russia has scaled back the flow of gas to Europe recently, citing Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

European countries are facing a severe energy crisis caused by the sharp decrease in Russian energy supplies. Disruption in supply chains has led to higher energy and cost of living prices across the European Union, driving inflation to record levels and causing overall public dissatisfaction.

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