KYIV: Critical infrastructure across Ukraine was pounded by more than a dozen Russian missiles on Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said, with several regions reporting strikes on energy facilities and power outages.

At the same time Russian occupation authorities in the Ukrainian city of Kherson urged civilians to leave immediately citing what they called a tense military situation as Ukraine’s forces advance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram app regarding Russian attacks on infrastructure that began overnight: “The enemy launched a massive attack: 36 rockets, most of which were shot down.” The air force command earlier had said 33 missiles had been fired at Ukraine on Saturday morning, adding that 18 of them had been shot down. Since Oct 10, Russia has launched a series of devastating salvos at Ukraine’s power infrastructure, which have hit at least half of its thermal power generation and up to 40pc of the entire system.

Shortly after daybreak on Saturday, local officials in regions across Ukraine began reporting strikes on energy facilities and power outages as engineers scrambled to restore the network. Governors advised residents to stock up on water in case of disruptions to supply.

Parts of Kyiv suffered power cuts stretching into the early evening. In one central area of the capital, shops were closed and traffic lights were off, leaving motorists to navigate busy junctions by themselves. Witnesses in the southern city of Mykolaiv reported a power cut lasting several hours, disrupting mobile phone signals on some networks.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2022