Leave ‘immediately’, pro-Russians tell Kherson residents as attacks plunge Ukraine into darkness
- In recent days, Russia has been moving residents in the region – which it claims to have annexed in September – in efforts described as ‘deportations’ by Kyiv
- At least a million households in Ukraine are without electricity after Russia intensified strikes on power stations, water supply systems
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Pro-Russian authorities on Saturday urged residents in the southern Kherson region, which Moscow claims to have annexed, to leave the main city “immediately” in the face of Kyiv’s advancing counter-offensive.
Kyiv’s forces have been advancing along the west bank of the Dnieper river, towards the Kherson region’s eponymous main city. The first major city to fall to Moscow’s troops, retaking it would be a key prize in Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
In recent days, Russia has been moving residents in the region – which Moscow claims to have annexed in September – in efforts described as “deportations” by Kyiv.
“Due to the tense situation on the front, the increased danger of mass shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the left bank of the Dnieper river,” the region’s pro-Russian authorities said on social media.
A Moscow-installed official in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, told Russian news agency Interfax on Saturday that around 25,000 people had made the crossing.
It comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched 36 rockets overnight in a “massive attack” on Ukraine, following reported strikes on energy infrastructure that resulted in power outages across the country.
“The aggressor continues to terrorise our country. At night, the enemy launched a massive attack: 36 rockets, most of which were shot down … These are vile strikes on critical objects. Typical tactics of terrorists,” Zelensky said.
More than a million households in Ukraine were left without electricity following Russian strikes on energy facilities across the country, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidency said on Saturday.
Russia intensified its strikes on power stations, water supply systems and other key infrastructure across the country, the latest phase of the war as it nears the eight-month mark.
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The Western city of Khmelnytskyi, which straddles the Bug river and was home to some 275,000 people before the war, was left with no electricity, soon after local media reported several loud explosions.
The city council urged local residents to store water, “in case it’s also gone within an hour”, in a social media post on Saturday.
The mayor of Lutsk, a city of 215,000 in Ukraine’s far west, made a similar appeal on Telegram on Saturday. Power in Lutsk had been partially knocked out after Russian missiles slammed into local energy facilities, he said.
The central city of Uman, a key pilgrimage centre for Hasidic Jews which counted some 100,000 residents before the war, was also plunged into darkness after a rocket hit a nearby power station, regional authorities said on Telegram.
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Ukrainians face nationwide blackouts after Russian air strikes
In the capital and four surrounding regions, including Cherkasy, rolling blackouts came into effect on Saturday morning in response to the reduced power supplies. The state energy company Ukrenergo continued to urge all Ukrainians to conserve energy.
Earlier this week, President Zelensky called on consumers to curb their power use between 7am and 11am daily, and avoid using energy-guzzling appliances such as electric heaters.
Over the past two weeks, Moscow has increased its attacks on key civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. About 40 per cent of the country’s electric power system has been severely damaged, officials said. Zelenskyy said earlier in the week that 30 per cent of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed since October 10.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
