Ukraine announces emergency power shutdowns | STERN.de

In Ukraine, there are nationwide restrictions on electricity supplies due to Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure. From Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. until midnight there were “controlled emergency shutdowns in all regions of Ukraine,” as the energy supplier Ukrenerho had previously announced on Facebook. For industrial customers, the restrictions should continue on Wednesday, it was said. The reason is a “significant power shortage” due to Russian shelling and increased demand on cold days. According to the city administration, around ten percent of consumers in the capital Kiev are affected by the emergency shutdowns.

Russia has been waging a war of aggression against its neighboring country for more than two years. The Russian army has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy facilities in recent months.

More than 20 injured in Russian attacks on Kharkiv

At least 21 people were injured in new attacks in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The prosecutor’s office in the region bordering Russia said there were three children among the victims. Ukrainian authorities reported several Russian airstrikes that rocked the city throughout the day and were also said to have hit a multi-story residential building.

In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again insisted on more international help in air defense, especially in protecting Kharkiv. “If we had already gotten two Patriot systems for this region, then that would have made a difference for the overall situation in the war,” emphasized Zelensky, who met earlier in the day with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who traveled to Ukraine.

Flashing in Ukraine

Zelensky also called for Patriot anti-aircraft systems for Kharkiv during his meeting with Blinken. The visit, which, as usual, was not announced for security reasons, was Blinken’s fourth since the start of the war in February 2022. It was also the first visit after the US approved a long-delayed aid package worth 61 billion US dollars (56.5 billion euros).

Some of the weapons have already arrived, some are still on the way, said Blinken. “This will make a real difference on the battlefield against Russian aggression.” But he didn’t give any details. During a speech at the Polytechnic Institute in Kiev, he later said that anti-aircraft systems were being sought.

Russia’s new defense minister: No mobilization planned

Meanwhile, Russia’s designated Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov countered fears among his own population about a possible new wave of mobilization. According to the Interfax agency, recruiting new fighters is an important task, the 65-year-old said during a hearing in the upper house of the Russian parliament, which will officially decide on his appointment. “I would particularly like to emphasize that there is no talk of mobilization or any unscheduled measures,” he then added.

In view of the labor shortage in Ukraine as a result of the war, the federal government is thinking about how people who have fled there can be supported when they return to their homeland. “There are considerations as to how we could support people in their new beginning in Ukraine,” said Development Minister Svenja Schulze to the “Tagesspiegel” when asked whether financial incentives for refugees were planned. “Models of so-called circular migration, i.e. a temporary return, are also conceivable.”