In Ukraine, Russia is bombing Kiev and a number of cities after withdrawing from Kherson

Ukraine – The capital Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were hit by new Russian strikes this Tuesday, November 15, for the first time since mid-October, just days after a humiliating withdrawal of Moscow forces in the country’s south and a full Russian summit. G20 in Indonesia.

From 15:30 (14:30 in Paris), anti-aircraft defense sirens sounded almost all over Ukraine. A few minutes later, explosions were heard in Kyiv, Lviv (west) and Kharkiv (northeast). After these explosions, electricity was cut off in several regions of the country, Ukrainian authorities said. According to the Ukrainian presidency, more than 7 million homes were left without electricity on Tuesday evening.

“Attack on the capital: according to preliminary information, two residential buildings were hit in the Pechersk district. Several missiles were shot down by the air defense system over Kyiv »shortly after, the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko, announced on Telegram that at least one person had died. “Rescuers found the body of a dead person in one of the buildings hit by a rocket in Pechersk region”he lamented on Telegram. “Rescue and search operations are continuing”he added.

An official of the Ukrainian presidential administration released a video showing a five-story building in flames.

“Missile launch over the Kyiv region! »

“85 rockets were fired”

” At least ” Half of the residents of Kiev are currently without electricity“Mass missile attack” The Russians also announced the mayor of Kyiv. “At least half of the capital (residents) are without electricity”he said on Telegram. “(The national operator) caused an emergency power outage across Ukraine”especially in Kyiv, “Balancing the Network”he added.

Other cities of the country were also targeted. in the northeast, “Rocket attack on Industrial District in Kharkiv”, the mayor of the second city of Ukraine, Igor Terekhov, said on Telegram. And in the west, “Sounds of explosions are heard in Lviv. Everyone stay safe! »He called his colleague from Lviv Andrey Sadov on Telegram“A part of the city was left without electricity”.

In all, “85 rockets were fired” by the Russian army “Mainly on energy infrastructure”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a short video posted on the social network. “Nearly a hundred rockets were fired from the Caspian Sea, Rostov region (Russia) (…)”and also “From the Black Sea”, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuri Ignat, said earlier on live television. He clarified it“At the current stage, the use of attack drones has not been registered”.

“It is clear what the enemy wants. He will not achieve his goal.”President Vladimir Zelensky also said.

Ukraine struck a region of Russia

A few hours after the Russian attacks, the governor of the Belgorod region of Russia, which borders Ukraine, announced that two people had died as a result of the strikes by Ukraine. According to him, the shots were aimed at the city of Chebekino. “There are two dead and three wounded”– Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

Russia has been denouncing since mid-October “significant increase” Ukraine has shelled a number of Russian border regions, including Belgorod, as well as Kursk and Bryansk.

For example, in October, an oil depot near Belgorod was bombed by Ukrainian forces and a power plant in the regional capital Belgorod, the latter strike causing a major power outage.

Ukraine’s electricity grid is in a “critical” state

Power grid status “critical” He regretted the Ukrainian presidency in the country. “Russian terrorists have carried out another planned attack on the energy infrastructure. The situation is critical”Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kirilo Tymoshenko said this on Telegram. The data was confirmed by Internet observatory Net Block, which recorded a massive cut in internet and national connectivity at 67% of previous levels.

According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, this is the situation in the capital, Kyiv, which was hit by several rockets. “very hard”. “Special emergency cut-off times (power) apply”he added.

Several power outages were also recorded in Moldova after the Russian strikes. “Every bomb that falls on Ukraine affects Moldova and our people as well”, – wrote the head of Moldovan diplomacy Niku Popescu on Twitter. It caused a power outage “automatic disconnection of the power transmission line for safety purposes (…)”, after the Russian strikes, the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova Andrey Spinu said on Telegram. According to him, electricity supply has been restored. “almost completely” in the country for two hours.

“The risk of power outages remains high”but he warned by saying that “Any attack by Russia on Ukrainian power plants could lead to today’s situation”. “I urge you to save (electricity, editor’s note) and show solidarity”Andrey Spinu added.

Moscow has given no sign of wanting to stop its attacks

Previous strikes targeting the Ukrainian capital have occurred on October 10 and 17, and have primarily targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as elsewhere in the country, to deprive the population of electricity as winter approaches.

At that time, Moscow justified these strikes “massive” With the partial destruction of the bridge connecting Russia with the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

This time, the strikes targeted Kiev, four days after Russian troops humiliatingly withdrew from northern Kherson province, including the eponymous capital, after nearly nine months of occupation. The Kremlin decided to do this because of a counterattack by Ukraine with weapons provided by the West. He already had to retreat from the north of the country in the spring, and from the northeast in September.

“Russia responded to Vladimir Zelensky’s strong G20 speech with another missile attack”denounced Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak on Twitter on Tuesday. “Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? He wants to obey. But in the end, terrorists always lose.”he added.

On the diplomatic front, the leaders of many G20 countries, which unite the biggest economic powers of the planet, tried to increase the pressure on Russia to stop the war. But Moscow, which sent the head of diplomacy Sergey Lavrov to Indonesia, has not given any indication of its desire to stop its attacks because Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to visit.

The Russian minister accused Ukraine of obstructing peace talks by demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory. “All problems are caused by Ukraine, which categorically refuses to negotiate and makes obviously unrealistic demands”he complained.

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