Russian strikes leave nearly half of Kyiv without heat and power in freezing temperatures, as mayor reports mass evacuations and critical infrastructure damage.
KYIV: An overnight Russian bombardment has left thousands of residential buildings and the Ukrainian parliament without heating and water in -14°C temperatures.
The barrage, which targeted energy facilities across Ukraine, killed at least one man near the capital and prompted air raid sirens and explosions as air defences responded.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko told AFP that more than half a million people have evacuated from Kyiv this month following Russia’s strongest attack on the capital’s energy infrastructure in the war.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he “continues to wage a genocidal war against women, children and elderly.”
He said Russian forces had targeted energy infrastructure overnight in at least seven regions and urged Ukraine’s allies to bolster its air defence systems.
President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested he might skip the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to deal with the aftermath, but kept open the possibility of attending if agreements with the US were ready.
Russia fired some 339 long-range combat drones and 34 missiles in the overnight barrage, according to Kyiv’s air force.
The attack came around 10 days after a major January 9 strike that left half the capital without heating, prompting Klitschko’s rare call for residents to evacuate.
“Not everyone has a chance to leave the city, but right now the population is reduced,” Klitschko said, specifying that 600,000 people had moved from the capital of some 3.6 million.
Most buildings cut off on Tuesday were those already affected by the earlier January 9 strike, with schools closed until February and street lights dimmed to preserve energy.
“After this attack, 5,635 residential buildings are without heating,” Klitschko said on Telegram, representing about half the capital’s apartment blocks.
Much of Kyiv was also without running water, and the parliament building was cut off, speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk confirmed in a video message.
“Almost half of Kyiv is in blackout right now,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said.
Authorities in the western Rivne region said a separate attack damaged “critical infrastructure”, leaving 10,000 households without power.
The head of the southern Odesa region added that a Russian drone crashed into a residential building and energy facilities were hit.
The power grid supplying the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant was also briefly cut off before being reconnected, according to the plant’s director.
Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s energy system since the start of its invasion, which Kyiv says is an attempt to sap morale and weaken resistance.
The Kremlin says it only targets Ukrainian military facilities and blames the war’s continuation on Kyiv for refusing to accept its peace demands.
The Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday it had carried out strikes on facilities that support Ukraine’s military.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two top Russian military officials over the attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, calling it a war crime designed to harm civilians.
Due to wartime sensitivities, Kyiv does not specify which energy facilities have been damaged or destroyed in Russian attacks.
