Ukraine capital restored most of its power supply on Friday. Country again responded swiftly and defiantly to the latest Russian missile and drone barrage targeting critical infrastructure.
In what has become a familiar Russian tactic since last fall. The Kremlin’s forces struck Ukraine from afar amid months of a grinding battlefield stalemate on the front line in eastern areas. The apparent aim is to weaken Ukraine’s resolve and compel the Ukrainian government to negotiate peace on Moscow’s terms.
Ukrainian authorities scrambled to counter the bombardment’s consequences, part of a recurring cycle of urban smash-and-repair. That has brought little change in the course of the war that recently moved into its second year.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in an assessment that “these missile strikes will not undermine Ukraine’s will or improve Russia’s positions on the front lines.”
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the Russians are striking civilian infrastructure, because they can’t efficiently target Ukrainian military assets.
“The Russians lack data about the location of Ukrainian troops and weapons, so they are targeting civilian infrastructure and using the same old methods of attacking civilians to sow fear and panic in the society,” he said. “Ukraine has survived the winter and Russia’s strikes on the energy system in the spring hardly make any sense.”
According to Serhii Popko, the commander of the city’s military government, power and water have been restored in Kyiv. According to Popko, there are still ongoing repairs and approximately 30% of consumers in the city do not have heating.
Local officials said, more than 90% of customers in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine now have access to energy. In the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine, a third of customers now have access to electricity.
With more than 80 Russian missiles and drones that went off in the assault, it was the biggest in three weeks.
