Ukraine qualified Russia's attacks on its energy infrastructure as a genocide. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s warning
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure amount to genocide, Ukraine's attorney general says. 14 regions of the neighbouring country, including the capital Kyiv, are still experiencing problems with electricity and heat. In this context, President Volodymyr Zelensky is warning Ukrainians to prepare for a long and hard winter, marked by attacks from Russia.
At the same time, Ukrainian investigators announce that they are investigating more than 49,000 war crimes and aggressions committed by the Russians since the beginning of the invasion. Amid intensifying Russian bombing, a harsh winter and a lack of electricity, water or heating, the Ukrainian government, along with several volunteers, evacuated several elderly people from the city of Kherson on Sunday.
"Kherson can become the second Mariupol. Now we have to evacuate as many people as possible. There is no electricity, water and food. Help is needed. Hospitals also need help, they are running out of medicine. We have to do as much as we can so that our people have a warm place to stay and are provided with everything they need," says volunteer Victor Mironov.
Ukrenergo, the state electricity grid operator, said on Sunday that power producers are now meeting about 80 percent of demand. Meanwhile, Ukrainian security forces claim that the town of Kamianka is officially wiped off the face of the earth. Not a single house or building in the village is intact. The fiercest battles were fought here for several months. There is no exact number of dead residents yet - people are found in locked cellars or buried in gardens.
"I had the feeling that a little more and we would be killed somewhere. This was my home... I don't know how we will live from now on. I ask myself this question every day. What to do? Where do I start?", says Ludmila Korniycha, a resident of Kamianka.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message that Ukrainians must prepare for a long and hard winter marked by attacks from Russia.
"We understand that terrorists are planning new attacks. We know that for sure. And as long as they have missiles, they won't stop. Russia is trying to use this winter and the cold against the Ukrainian people. Our defence forces are preparing to fight back. We have worked out all the scenarios, including with our partners," said Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine.
The Antonovsky Bridge, which was the main crossing point over Ukraine's Dnipro River in Kherson, was destroyed by Russian troops in early November as the Russian army retreated from the city. According to Ukrainian officials and local residents, critical infrastructure was destroyed during the withdrawal from the city, including electricity and water supplies.
