Day 298: Russia Pounds Kyiv, Ukraine Restores Power To 6M
Facts
- Electricity has been restored to 6M people in Ukraine after Russia pounded the country with 76 missiles on Friday, hitting nine power supply stations and plunging much of the fog-shrouded country into darkness.
- According to the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, power has since been restored to three-quarters of the capital's residents, while heating has been fully reinstated.
- In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy again pressed Western allies to provide "a reliable air defence shield" to protect Ukraine's airspace. He argued: "When this happens, the main form of Russian terror — missile terror — will become simply impossible."
- Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces reported that Russia had lost 98,280 troops in Ukraine between Feb. 24 and Dec. 18 this year. He claimed that Moscow's total combat losses included 2,987 tanks, 1,948 artillery systems, 410 multiple-launch rocket systems, 211 anti-aircraft warfare systems, and 653 cruise missiles.
- Amid reports that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has lowered the morale of its armed forces, the Russian MoD on Sunday announced that the Kremlin is sending two "creative brigades" to the front line in Ukraine. The entertainers reportedly intend to combat troops' "fragile morale."
- Elsewhere, Hungary, Romania, Georgia, and Azerbaijan have agreed a deal on an undersea electricity connector to reduce Europe's heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas. The agreement will enable Azerbaijan to export electricity from its offshore wind farms to Hungary — via Romania and Georgia — through a 742-mile cable beneath the Black Sea.
Sources: BBC News, Euro News, Al Jazeera, Ukrinform, Yahoo News, and Associated Press.
Narratives
- Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Russia is not violating any international law by targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Attacks on energy grids have long been part of warfare and they are considered legitimate targets when they result in quantifiable military advantage. According to a former ambassador of the LPR, strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have resulted in the slowing of munitions production by two to three times. If Moscow were intentionally targeting civilians, Ukraine would have been destroyed long ago.
- Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by NY Times. Deliberately terrorizing civilians is a war crime and Russia's missile attacks on Ukrainian power grids haven't yielded a definite military advantage. By leaving half of Ukraine without power for several hours and sometimes days during freezing temperatures, Moscow may have dreamed of a civilian surrender, but Ukraine's population are far more resilient than Putin could have imagined.