Ukraine Says Half of Its Energy System Crippled by Russian Attacks

A recent wave of Russian missile and drone strikes have crippled almost half of Ukraine’s energy system, the Kyiv government said on Friday, November 18.

In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “The difficult situation with energy supply persists in a total of 17 regions and in the capital," but added that there were “significantly fewer emergency shutdowns” during the day as energy industry workers were racing to restore power.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a news conference on Friday: “Unfortunately Russia continues to carry out missile strikes on Ukraine’s civilian and critical infrastructure. Almost half of our energy system is disabled”.

Russian shelling and missile strikes hit civilian infrastructure in various parts of Ukraine last week. Credit: Volodymyr Zelensky via Storyful