Get out of hard-hit areas and stock up on winter supplies, urged Ukrainians

Ukraine could face rolling blackouts across the country until March, according to one energy expert. This is due to what another official described as “huge” damage inflicted on Ukraine’s power grid by relentless Russian airstrikes on Tuesday. Ukrainians have been told to stock up on supplies and evacuate hard-hit areas.

Sergei Kovalenko, CEO of the private energy company DTEK Yasno, said: “There are fewer blackouts now, but I want everyone to understand that Ukrainians will have to endure blackouts at least until the end of March. It’s very likely,” he said.

“I think we need to be prepared for different options, including the worst. spoke to the residents.

Russia has been bombarding Ukraine’s power grid and other infrastructure from the air for weeks as the war nears its nine-month milestone. Thousands of Ukrainians were deprived of electricity, heat and water.

Unseasonably mild autumn turns to snow

Kovalenko said even without more Russian airstrikes, planned blackouts would be needed across Ukraine to ensure that power was evenly distributed across Ukraine’s battered energy grid.

Volodymyr Kudritsky, head of the state-owned power grid operator Uklenergo, said on Tuesday that virtually no thermal or hydroelectric power plant had been left intact since November 15, but the need to evacuate civilians. denied. He said the damage was “extreme”.

Temperatures in Ukraine were unseasonably mild this fall, but have started to drop below freezing and are expected to drop to -20 degrees Celsius, or even lower in some regions, during the winter months. Snow has already fallen in many regions, including Kyiv.

“This winter will be life-threatening for millions of people in Ukraine,” said Dr. Hans-Henri P. Spoken for damage to medical facilities.

Ukrainian authorities have begun evacuating civilians from the recently liberated southern Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, fearing the winter will be difficult to survive.

In a telegram message to residents of Kherson, especially the elderly, women with children, and those who are sick or disabled, Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereschuk posted a number of ways in which residents can show interest in leaving. .

“For the winter they can be evacuated to safer areas of the country,” she wrote.

Watch | Long Road to Liberated Kherson:

Despite worsening weather conditions, the battle for terrain continues unabated, with Ukrainian forces pressuring Russian positions as part of a weeks-long counteroffensive and Moscow forces continuing artillery and missile attacks. .

In a key battlefield development, Ukrainian officials said Kyiv’s forces were attacking Russian positions on the Kinburn Spit, the gateway to parts of the Black Sea Basin and South Kherson region still under Russian control. I admitted that I was

A Washington-based think tank said capturing the Kinburn spit would be “significantly less Russian artillery fire” than crossing the Dnipro directly, allowing Ukrainian forces to advance into territory still held by Russia in the Kherson region. said it could be useful for

The War Research Institute added that controlling the region would allow Kyiv to defuse Russian attacks on ports in southern Ukraine and allow Ukraine to step up its naval activities in the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president’s office said on Tuesday that at least eight civilians were killed and 16 wounded in the past 24 hours as Moscow forces again used drones, rockets and heavy artillery to shell eight regions in Ukraine. said he did

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that at least 16,784 civilians have been killed and 10,189 injured in the war since Russia invaded on 24 February.

In the eastern Donetsk region, heavy fighting continues around the city of Bakhmut, with Kremlin forces eager to emerge victorious after weeks of military defeats.

monastery raid

Meanwhile, Ukrainian counterintelligence, police and the National Guard raided one of the most prominent Orthodox sites in the capital, Kyiv, on Tuesday. After the priest spoke favorably about Russia (the Ukrainian invaders) during the service.

The sprawling Kyiv Pechersk Lavra – or Monastery of the Caves – is a cultural heritage site of Ukraine and the headquarters of the Russian-backed Ukrainian Orthodox Church, under the umbrella of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Overlooking the right bank of the Dnipro River, this place has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.

The raid, motivated by allegations of security forces revealing possible covert Russian operations at the complex, highlights deep divisions in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church exacerbated by the nine-month Russian invasion. I made it

Hundreds of Ukrainian Orthodox communities have cut ties with the Moscow-controlled branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long been one of the main sources of Russian influence and power in Ukraine. converted to the Orthodox Church.

However, some remain loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate. The Pechersk Lavra monastic complex is part of that church. Associated Press journalists saw dozens of police conducting checks inside and outside the site on Tuesday.

The Russian Orthodox Church condemned the attack as an “act of intimidation”.

Russia cuts spending on health care, schools and roads

At home, Russia plans to spend almost a third of next year’s budget on national defense and internal security, but it has also been forced to invest in schools, hospitals, and roads to divert cash to support military operations in Ukraine. reduce funding to

Moscow will spend 207 billion Cdn in line with defense and security, narrowing other priorities in a crucial year leading up to Vladimir Putin’s possible re-election in 2024, according to a Reuters budget analysis. increase.

Combined military and security spending is a record for the Kremlin, but only about 18% of what the US plans to spend next fiscal year on defense and national security needs.

The change in budget shape reflects Russia’s efforts to build up its military power in Ukraine since September despite declaring annexation of four regions it partially occupies. is doing. Putin has ordered the central government and more than 80 regions of the country to work together more effectively to support military needs.

The 2023 budget cuts spending on the “national economy” by 23%, including roads, agriculture and research and development. Health care costs will be reduced by 9% and education costs will be reduced by 2%.

While his country is cutting funding for its citizens, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in the coming days with the mother of a reservist called up to fight in Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. said to

Russia celebrates Mother’s Day on November 27th.

A Kremlin spokeswoman said Putin would receive “first-hand information about the actual situation.”