Millions in Ukraine face complete blackout, and Moscow says Kyiv can end suffering if it is ready to meet Russian demands.
Most of Ukraine is shrouded in darkness after the last missile attack when a barrage of Russian missiles and drones hit energy infrastructure on Wednesday, leaving nearly 80 percent of the country in the dark.
With temperatures falling below zero, administrations labor to restore power and water supply as millions are cut off from the electricity grid. In the subzero temperatures of Ukraine, surviving the freezing winter is going to be hard unless the power is restored quickly.
People ask whether solar panels with battery backup and wood stoves would help Ukrainians survive this. Even that is an impossibility in the cold bitter winter. People are accusing Mr. Putin of taking Russia back to the Dark Ages.
A netizen tweeted, “Russia terrorizes civilians, little do they know that the electric grid will be repaired, but they’ll go down in history as a terrorist state. And losers.
#RussiaIsATerroristState
#RussiaIsLosing”
Majority of cities in Ukraine are in complete darkness after last missile attack.
russia terrorizes civilians, little do they know that the electric grid will be repaired, but they'll go down in history is a terrorist state. And losers.#RussiaIsATerroristState#RussiaIsLosing pic.twitter.com/iCbmCrrDXZ
— Lora (@LoraOzhkh) November 24, 2022
By Thursday evening, more than 24 hours after the Russian strikes smashed areas of Kyiv, the city’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 60 percent of homes were still suffering emergency outages. With temperatures falling below zero, Kyiv authorities said they were able to restore water services but were still working to get the lights and heat back on.
As the war entered Week 39, Russia on Thursday denied having targeted civilians during attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and said Kyiv can end suffering if it is ready to meet Moscow’s demands to end the conflict.
This development comes as repeated missile barrages across Ukraine over the last few weeks have forced millions of people to go without light, water or heating for hours or days at a time as they brace for a cold and harsh winter ahead.
“The leadership of Ukraine has every opportunity to bring the situation back to normal, has every opportunity to resolve the situation in such a way as to fulfill the requirements of the Russian side and, accordingly, end all possible suffering among the population,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.
What does Putin Want?
He wants Ukraine under the Russian domain, to draw Ukraine, a nation of 44 million people, back under Russia’s sphere of influence. He has described the Soviet disintegration as one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century that looted Russia of its rightful place among the world’s great powers. Stating Russia and Ukraine share the same cultural heritage and roots, and he wants to bring Ukraine under his dominion. He has spent his 22 years in power rebuilding Russia’s military and reasserting its geopolitical clout.
Putin is dead against Ukraine joining NATO. Ukraine has had a partnership with NATO since 1992. Membership with NATO would significantly increase Ukraine’s international military backing, allowing for NATO military action within Ukraine and alongside members of its military. This guarantee of military might would act as a firm deterrent to Russian aggression.
The economy of Ukraine is an emerging, mixed economy located in Eastern Europe. It grew rapidly from 2000 until 2008 when the Great Recession began worldwide and reached Ukraine.
The economy recovered in 2010 and continued improving until 2013. From 2014 to 2015, the Ukrainian economy suffered a severe downturn, with GDP in 2015 being slightly above half of its value in 2013. In 2016, the economy again started to grow. By 2018, the Ukrainian economy was growing fast and reached almost 80% of its size in 2008. Mr. Putin has his eye on Ukraine for its growth.
