Russia launched another large-scale airstrike on Ukraine on Wednesday. One person was killed in Kiev and a baby died in the south of the country when a maternity ward was hit. A nuclear power plant near Mykolaiv also had to be partially closed. Additionally, Moldova reports that power has been lost over large parts of the country.
The air raid alarm went off around 12:30 (Dutch time) in almost all of the country. Reports of explosions have come from various cities. The western city of Lviv and the suburbs of the capital Kyiv also report attacks. Local power is said to have shut down in Lviv.
Moldova also reports it. According to Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu, power has been lost in half of the country. Moldova’s largest energy company doesn’t know how long it will take to complete the repairs.
The damage is still being assessed in Kiev. Mayor Vitali Klitschko still doesn’t know exactly which buildings were hit. Big clouds of smoke rise in the city center. There, too, these are probably new attacks on the energy grid, but there are also victims and damage in residential areas.
According to the latest reports, the electricity grid has been disrupted across the region. Furthermore, residents no longer have access to clean drinking water.
Ukraine is setting up special reception centers for civilians
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday night that special shelters had been set up across the country. Residents can go there for heat, electricity, water, internet and medicines. In this way, the Kiev government is trying to protect its residents from further attacks on the energy grid.
Winter in Ukraine lasts approximately from mid-November to mid-March. The average maximum temperature during the day is therefore below 4 degrees. January is the coldest. So it generally doesn’t get hotter than -1 degree. Due to the onset of winter, the government is trying to evacuate residents of cities near the front to other cities further inland.
Baby dies in maternity ward attack
Rocket attacks were also reported about 200 kilometers southwest of Kiev. In Vinnytsia and Kremenchuk “crucial” infrastructure was allegedly affected. In Vilniansk, near Zaporizhzhia, a maternity ward was hit in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said. A two-day-old baby is said to have died.
More than 400 children have been killed in Ukraine so far, according to the United Nations. Zelensky speaks of “terror and murder”. He claims Russia is trying to force a breakthrough with strikes because the country is losing the battle on the battlefield.
0:45European Parliament calls Russia a ‘sponsor of terrorism’
The European Parliament now calls Russia a sponsor of terrorism. It is a mostly symbolic title, as the EU does not yet have a blacklist of countries that support terrorism.
The United States has a blacklist. For example, a country in this situation will find it more difficult to obtain financial aid, loans and weapons. The United States does not want to put Russia on that list just yet.
Ukraine has been urging the EU for this step for some time. “They deserve the designation. Russian troops have indiscriminately attacked residential areas and civilian infrastructure, killing thousands of civilians. They are terrorizing the civilian population,” a European Parliament spokesman said.
