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October 21, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news | CNN
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has mentioned that Russia’s assaults on Ukraine’s power infrastructure are geared toward creating a brand new wave of refugees.
Talking to the European Council in a video deal with, Zelensky mentioned after failing to make use of power sources as a weapon towards Europe, “the present Russian management has ordered to show the power system itself right into a battlefield. The results of this are very harmful, once more for all of us in Europe.”
“Assaults by Russian cruise missiles and Iranian assault drones have destroyed greater than a 3rd of our power infrastructure,” he mentioned. “Due to this, sadly, we are able to not export electrical energy that can assist you preserve stability.”
Days of devastating Russian assaults on power infrastructure have brought about the nation to lose at the very least 40% of its power-generating capability. Ukrainian officers warned earlier this week that each emergency and scheduled blackouts would comply with.
Zelensky added: “Russia can be upsetting a brand new wave of migration of Ukrainians to the EU nations. Russia’s terror towards our power amenities is geared toward creating as many issues with electrical energy and warmth in Ukraine as attainable this autumn and winter and making as many Ukrainians as attainable depart on your nations.”
Crucial dam mined: Zelensky additionally claimed that Russia was creating grounds for a large-scale disaster within the south of Ukraine, with Russian forces mining a essential dam on the Dnipro river within the southern Kherson area, in addition to the adjoining hydroelectric plant.
“We now have data that Russian terrorists have mined the dam and items of the Kakhovka hydroelectric energy plant,” Zelensky informed the Council of Europe throughout a video deal with.
“The dam of this hydroelectric energy plant holds about 18 million cubic meters of water.
“If Russian terrorists blow up this dam, greater than 80 settlements, together with Kherson, will likely be within the zone of fast flooding. Tons of of hundreds of individuals might endure. Water provide to a big a part of southern Ukraine could possibly be destroyed. This Russian terrorist assault may depart Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant with out water for cooling – water for ZNPP is taken from the Kakhovka reservoir. “
CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Protection for a response to the allegations.
The dam and hydroelectric plant have been working at much-reduced capability as the world was captured by Russian forces in March. Ukrainian forces are some 40 kilometers (greater than 24 miles) north of the dam. Over the previous 4 months, they’ve launched a number of strikes towards the bridge that varieties a part of the dam to forestall its use by the Russian army.
Individually, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the pinnacle of the Ukrainian President’s workplace, mentioned on Twitter Thursday that Russia deliberate to mine the dam and transformers, forcing the deportation of Ukrainian civilians from Kherson and flooding territory to cease the Ukrainian counteroffensive within the area. The land to the south and east of the river is low-lying.
“Russia is getting ready a man-made disaster,” Podolyak mentioned.
What pro-Moscow officers are saying: The Russian-appointed head of the Nova Kakhovka administrative district, Vladimir Leontiev, informed Russian state media TASS that it is senseless for Russia to destroy the dam of the facility station.
“What’s the level for Russia to destroy it now? Even from a proper viewpoint, that is nonsense. That is absolute nonsense,” Leontiev mentioned.
“To begin with, it’s worthwhile to take into consideration who advantages from it: it is just useful for Ukraine to destroy the dam, the hydroelectric energy station, to disrupt logistics, to sow worry and panic, to cease the potential of supplying water by means of the North Crimean Canal to the territory of Crimea,” he mentioned, in line with TASS.
