Day 239: Rolling Blackouts Planned Throughout Ukraine; More Strikes on Energy Infrastructure
Facts
- Following a fortnight of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure — which have driven numerous areas into darkness — Ukraine’s principal energy provider, Ukrenergo, has announced that it will impose rolling blackouts across the country on Thursday.
- A statement from Ukrenergo’s press office said: “The reason for [Thursday’s] restrictions is the lack of power in the system.” They also stated that they could not “rule out” asking for the support of Ukrainians more often as the nation faces “the onset of the cold weather.”
- Ukrainian officials reported further strikes against energy infrastructure on Thursday, saying a facility in the Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipropetrovsk was hit. On the same day, Russia also launched strikes on other, non-energy targets in the regions of Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia. There were no reports of civilian injuries in any of the attacks at this stage.
- However, Ukrainian officials said 19 civilians were killed and 23 others were injured in Russian attacks from the previous day. 13 people were killed and five were injured in Donetsk, three were killed and eight more injured in Zaporizhzhia, and one person was killed and one was injured in Kherson.
- A further four people were reported injured in Chernihiv, while officials said two ambulance operators were killed and five more were injured after their vehicle hit a mine in Kharkiv and exploded. Meanwhile, pro-Russia separatists in Donetsk said one civilian was killed and six others were injured in Ukrainian attacks over the past day.
- Elsewhere, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin declared martial law in the four recently annexed territories of Ukraine on Wednesday, giving local authorities additional powers to, “ensure security in their regions.” Six border regions of Russia, in which a medium level of response was introduced, were also granted additional powers.
Sources: Pravda, ukrinform, and Tass.
Narratives
- Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Yahoo News. Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure — namely on Ukrainian supplies of electricity, water, and heating — as winter approaches constitute war crimes. They must be met with a strong response from the international community.
- Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Newsweek. Russia’s response to Ukraine’s actions has so far been restrained, but Moscow has repeatedly warned that its patience is not infinite. In the wake of ongoing terror attacks — including the strike on the Crimean Bridge — Russia’s tough response has been long coming.