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Tag: Oleksandr Starukh

  • Ukraine to set up ‘invincibility’ shelters as cold, snow set in

    Russian air attacks have destroyed much of Ukraine’s power infrastructure, leaving people unable to light or heat their homes.

    Ukraine’s government has promised to set up shelters to provide heat and water after relentless Russian air attacks that have left its power structure in tatters as temperatures drop and snow falls.

    Special “invincibility centres” will be set up around the country to provide citizens with electricity, heat, water, internet, mobile phone connections and a pharmacy, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Tuesday. The centres will be free of charge and operate 24 hours a day.

    Russian attacks have led to prolonged power cuts for as many as 10 million residents at a time. Ukraine has urged people to conserve energy, and the national power grid operator said on Tuesday that the damage had been colossal.

    “If massive Russian strikes happen again and it’s clear power will not be restored for hours, the ‘invincibility centres’ will go into action with all key services,” Zelenskyy said.

    Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this week that some 8,500 power generator sets were being imported into Ukraine every day.

    Much of Ukraine saw its first snow of the winter over the past week.

    Authorities have warned of power cuts that could affect millions of people until the end of March – the latest fallout from Russia’s nine-month invasion that has already killed tens of thousands, uprooted millions and pummelled the global economy.

    Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities follow a series of battlefield setbacks that have included a retreat of its forces from the southern city of Kherson.

    A week after being retaken by Ukrainian forces, residents in Kherson were tearing down Russian propaganda billboards and replacing them with pro-Ukrainian signs.

    “The moment our soldiers entered, these posters were printed and handed over to us. We found workers to install the posters, and we clean up the advertisement off as quickly as possible,” said Antonina Dobrozhenska, who works at the government’s communications department.

    Russian missiles hit a maternity hospital in the Zaporizhzhia region killing a baby, regional governor Oleksandr Starukh said on the Telegram messaging service early on Wednesday.

    The Reuters news agency was not able to independently verify the report. Russia denies launching attacks on civilians.

    Battles also continue to rage in the east, where Russia is pressing an offensive along a stretch of front line west of the city of Donetsk, which has been held by its proxies since 2014. The Donetsk region was the scene of fierce attacks and constant shelling over the past 24 hours, Zelenskyy said.

    In Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Russian air defences were activated and two drone attacks were repelled on Tuesday, including one launched on a power station near Sevastopol, the regional governor said. Sevastopol is the home port of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

    Russian-installed Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev called for calm and said no damage had been caused.

    ‘Stock up on warm clothes’

    The World Health Organization warned this week that hundreds of Ukrainian hospitals and healthcare facilities lacked fuel, water and electricity, and that residents faced a life-threatening winter.

    “Ukraine’s health system is facing its darkest days in the war so far. Having endured more than 700 attacks, it is now also a victim of the energy crisis,” Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO regional director for Europe, said in a statement after visiting Ukraine.

    Sergey Kovalenko, the head of YASNO, which provides energy for Kyiv, advised citizens to “stock up on warm clothes, blankets … think about options that will help you get through a long outage.”

    Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure are a consequence of Kyiv being unwilling to negotiate, Russia’s state news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying last week.

    Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 claiming it was carrying out a “special military operation” to protect Russian-speaking communities.

    Ukraine and its allies say Russia’s actions constitute an unprovoked, imperialist land grab in a neighbouring state that it dominated when the two countries were part of the former Soviet Union.

    Western responses have included financial and military aid for Kyiv – it received 2.5 billion euros ($2.57bn) from the EU on Tuesday and is expecting $4.5bn in US aid in coming weeks – and waves of sanctions on Russia.

    Source: Aljazeera.com 

  • Oleksandr Starukh: Zaporizhzhia region governor says three people injured in early attacks

    The territory was targeted by S300 missiles, according to Oleksandr Starukh, governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

    He said: “A residential building and infrastructure facilities were destroyed.

    “According to preliminary information, there are no casualties.

    “There are three wounded.

    “The data is being verified.

    “As a result of the attack, the gas system was damaged in a residential high-rise building, there was a fire, and a wall was destroyed.

    “Specialised services are already working in the city of events.

    “The occupier also targeted a school in one of Zaporizhzhia’s districts.

    “The roof of the school was damaged and the windows were broken.

    “There were also hits on infrastructure facilities and open areas.“

     

  • Zaporizhzhia and Nikopol morning attacks – as kamikaze drones shot down overnight, say governors

    Governor Valentyn Reznichenko, five kamikaze drones were shot down overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region of central-eastern Ukraine.

    He reported on Telegram that Russia launched more than 50 shells into the city of Nikopol, injuring two persons.

    Ten high-rise and private buildings, a transport company, several shops, a garage, cars, and several offices were destroyed.

    He said more strikes had hit residential areas of Nikopol on Saturday morning and that details were still coming through.

    Ten rockets were also launched this morning at Zaporizhzhia, about 38 miles (61km) to the east, said the region’s governor.

    Oleksandr Starukh said on Telegram that a number of energy and industrial infrastructure facilities were destroyed. Information on casualties is so far unclear.

    There were also four overnight airstrikes on the city by drones, Mr Starukh added. Fires broke out but no one was injured.

     

     

  • Zaporizhzhia attack: Russian shelling in ‘annexed’ city kills 17

    At least 17 people have been killed by Russian missile strikes on the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the Ukraine defence ministry has said.

    Dozens more were wounded, and several residential buildings destroyed.

    The city is under Ukrainian control, but it is part of a region that Russia claimed it annexed last month.

    Zaporizhzhia has been hit repeatedly in recent weeks, as Russia hits back at urban areas after suffering defeats in the south and north-east of Ukraine.

    Parts of the Zaporizhzhia region, including its nuclear power plant – which is around 30 miles (52km) from the city – have been under Russian control since early in the invasion.

    The Ukrainian regional governor in Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandr Starukh, said 12 Russian missiles partially destroyed a nine-storey building, and levelled five other residential buildings.

    “There may be more people under the rubble. A rescue operation is under way at the scene. Eight people have already been rescued,” he said on Telegram.

    Ukrainian President Zelensky called the shelling “merciless strikes on peaceful people again”.

    “Absolute meanness,” he said. “Absolute evil. Savages and terrorists. From the one who gave this order to everyone who fulfilled this order. They will bear responsibility. For sure. Before the law and before people.”

    At the plant itself, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on Saturday the security situation had deteriorated further after overnight shelling the previous night cut all external power.

    The plant now relies on diesel generators for the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety, Mr Grossi said.

    The IAEA is pushing for a protection zone to prevent further damage to the site. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the shelling.

    Map showing the four regions Russia is annexing. Updated 3 October
    A map showing the four areas of Ukraine that Russia claimed it annexed last month, plus Crimea, which it has occupied since 2014

    Meanwhile, Russian divers are beginning a fuller examination of the damage done by Saturday’s explosion on the road and rail bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russia.

    Though limited traffic has resumed along one lane, a section of the bridge was brought down by the blast.

    Security has been tightened and Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a full investigation.

  • Zaporizhzhia missile strike: Death toll rises to11

    The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia this week has risen to 11, it has been reported. 

    The emergency services of Ukraine said the toll of Russian S-300 missile strikes on the city had now risen to 11 and a further 21 people had been rescued from the rubble of destroyed apartments.

    In a Telegram message, regional governor Oleksandr Starukh said: “This was not a random hit, but a series of missiles aimed at multi-storey buildings.”

    For context: Zaporizhzhia is one of the four regions of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin has illegally claimed as Russian territory.

    The region is home to a sprawling nuclear power plant under Russian occupation while the city of the same name remains under Ukrainian control.

    Russia is reported to have converted the S-300 from its original use as a long-range anti-aircraft weapon into a missile for ground attacks because of a shortage of other, more suitable weapons.

    The Ukrainian military said most of the drones it shot down on Thursday and Friday were the Iranian-made Shahed-136.

    The weapons are unlikely to significantly affect the course of the war, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said.