Russia launched a barrage of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities on Monday as it stepped up its attacks on infrastructure across the country.
Explosions and air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv early on Monday and 80% of residents were left without water – with many also without power – following power outages caused by Russian strikes, the capital’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, told Telegram.
One of the strikes hit an energy facility supplying 350,000 apartments in the capital, Klitschko said, adding that emergency services were trying to restore power and “stabilize the situation as soon as possible.”
Attacks on critical infrastructure were also reported in the central regions of Cherkasy and Kirovohrad, in the eastern region of Kharkiv and in the southern region of Zaporizhia.
The Ukrainian military said it had destroyed about 90 percent of the Russian missiles used in the attacks.
“The enemy attacked military and civilian infrastructure facilities with 55 anti-aircraft missiles, 45 of which were shot down by our defenders,” the army’s General Staff said.
By Monday afternoon, power was still partially out for many – although it had been restored to some.
“Electricians plan to stabilize the situation with the power supply around 9-10pm.” Klitschko said on Telegram, adding: “But even after the power supply is restored, power cuts will still be in place. Because the situation is difficult.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said diplomats “are in constant contact with their partners” to try to get aid and equipment to repair the extensive damage.
Kyiv is in contact with the European Union and NATO as well as several governments. It had already signed deals in 12 countries to acquire nearly 1,000 units of power equipment, including generators, according to Kuleba.
“We continue to work on increasing the number of partners and the amount of support,” he added.
The wave of strikes came after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Crimean city of Sevastopol over the weekend. Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014 and has controlled the territory ever since.
Earlier, Klitschko urged residents of the capital to get water from shops and pumping stations after an attack on a nearby electricity facility.
“At the moment, due to damage to the energy installation near Kyiv, 80% of the capital’s consumers remain without water supply,” he told Telegram. “Just in case, we ask you to procure water from the nearest pumps and points of sale. Specialists are doing everything possible to return water to the apartments of Kyiv residents.”
Speaking to CNN in Kyiv, 31-year-old Yana Lysenko said: “Monday morning started horribly as usual. I have a 4 year old, so of course I feel stressed.
“We don’t have water right now, but we do have electricity. We hope that the services will restore everything very quickly. Our spirit is very high and we expect victory. Such acts of terrorism targeting water and electricity supplies, I believe, no longer scare people.”
Viktor Halasan, 70, told CNN he remains positive despite having no water supply.
“Not having water is good, we can handle it,” he said, adding that he hoped Ukraine’s troops would “bring us closer to victory soon.”
Local office worker Oleksandr Nechepuriak told CNN he was collecting water for 15 people.
“It’s important that (the) office works,” said Nechepuriak, who works in food production.
“We will handle it,” he said, adding that “there are no other options.”
Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko described the attacks as “barbaric”, saying on Facebook: “Electricity substations, hydroelectric facilities and heat generating facilities were hit by missiles.”
He added: “As a result of this massive attack, there was a partial power outage and emergency power outage programs were introduced for consumers in Kyiv, Cherkasy (and) Zaporizhia and Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Poltava. regions”.
Water supplies in Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second-largest city – were also affected after an infrastructure facility was hit, while most metro services were halted, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
“The strike hit a critical infrastructure facility, knocking out the metro and ground power grid,” he said. “For now, we managed to launch the Kholodnohirsko-Zavodska (metro) line and replaced trolleys and trams with buses.”
Terekhov said that engineers are “doing everything possible to restore the water supply to the homes of Kharkiv residents as soon as possible.”
Two rockets hit Kharkiv on Monday morning, the mayor previously said on Telegram.
And in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, a rocket hit an industrial plant, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram.
“During the morning missile attack, two missiles were shot down (thanks to the Air Defense Forces) and a cruise missile hit an industrial plant,” he said. No casualties were reported.
Monday’s strikes hit 10 regions and damaged 18 facilities, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmykhal said on Telegram.
“Their target was not military installations, but politically vital infrastructure,” Shmyhal said. “Missiles and drones hit 10 areas, where 18 facilities were damaged, most of them energy-related.”
He said “hundreds of settlements in seven regions” had lost power and engineers were “working at full capacity” to repair the damage.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired more than 50 cruise missiles toward Ukraine on Monday and said it intercepted 44 of them.
“At 7:00 A.M. of October 31, the Russian occupiers launched several waves of missile attacks on critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine,” the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
“More than 50 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles were fired from the Tu-95/Tu-160 strategic missile carrier aircraft north of the Caspian Sea and the Volgodonsk region (Rostov region). 44 cruise missiles were destroyed” by the Ukrainian military, the Air Force statement added.
At least 10 Russian missiles were shot down over Kyiv early Monday, regional police chief Andriy Nebitov said on Telegram.
“Kiev region police are now discovering debris from the occupiers’ rockets in various parts of the region,” he said. “Air defense forces shot down at least 10 enemy missiles.”
Oleksii Kuleba, head of the Kiev region military command, said the strikes “hit critical infrastructure targets” and injured two people, one seriously.
Monday’s missiles were fired by Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers that took off from Russia’s Rostov region and over the Caspian Sea, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command said on television.
Yuri Ikhnat said there had been “several waves of missile launches” and repeated the claim that Ukraine had shot down “a really high percentage”.
Ihnat also called for more US and German air defense after the attacks. “We need air defense. These systems that we have already mentioned, the (German-made) IRIS-T, we need more of them,” he said.
So far Germany has supplied Ukraine with one IRIS-T.
“This system works and it worked today, and it worked with 100% effect,” Ihnat said. “And we want the Germans to increase production.”
He also mentioned the US-made NASAMS system, which is due to be delivered, and older systems such as the US HAWK surface-to-air missile.
Moscow defended the attacks. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram on Monday that it had targeted “Ukraine’s military command and power systems”.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued strikes with high-precision, long-range weapons from the air and sea against the military command and energy systems of Ukraine,” it said. “All allocated items have been hit.”
In recent weeks, Russia has launched a barrage of attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and heating infrastructure.
Even before Monday’s strikes, the situation was dire. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said about four million Ukrainians had power cuts after attacks on energy infrastructure that day.
Dmytro Sakharuk, executive director of Ukrainian energy company DTEK, said it was impossible to say how long the outage would last after the latest strikes, while equipment needed for repairs was also running out.
Zakharuk told Ukrainian TV: “Unfortunately, we have already exhausted the stock of equipment we had in our warehouses after the first two waves of attacks that took place since October 10. We managed to buy equipment. But unfortunately, the cost of the equipment is now measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“We are working on ways to buy it or acquire it from our partners. This is a problem for all electrical engineers. Cumulative losses from…
