Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses Moscow of intentionally hitting civilian infrastructure a day after Russian troops compelled to retreat.
Ukraine’s japanese area has suffered a “complete blackout” a day after a counterattack by Kyiv’s troops compelled the Russian military to retreat from giant tracts of the Kharkiv area, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Moscow of intentionally focusing on civilian infrastructure.
Ukrainian officers mentioned water amenities and a thermal energy station in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest metropolis, have been intentionally attacked, inflicting energy outages and cuts in water provides.
“No army amenities, the purpose is to deprive folks of sunshine & warmth,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter late on Sunday, describing the Russians as “terrorists”.
As many as 9 million folks within the area, together with in territory managed by Russia, might be affected.
“There isn't any electrical energy or water provide in a number of settlements. Emergency providers are working to regulate fires on the websites that have been hit,” Oleg Synegubov, the governor of the Kharkiv area, mentioned in a press release on social media.
Related experiences got here within the night from the areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa.
‘Utterly darkish’
Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid reporting from Kharkiv mentioned there are “energy outages in 5 areas within the northeast and japanese a part of the nation. What we’re listening to from officers is that the Russians have hit important infrastructure; they’re not telling us what or the place, however this metropolis is in pitch-black.
“We have been on the streets when [the power outage] occurred and as we have been driving again to our location, every part was fully darkish; there was not one mild on. It was fairly an eerie scene.”
Officers within the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava areas mentioned shortly after the electrical energy reduce bulletins that energy had been restored.
The Russian assaults have been additionally disrupting railways, with the nationwide prepare service asserting delays all through the east together with in Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s overseas ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko mentioned the Russian assaults have been an “act of desperation following Russia’s immense losses and retreat in japanese Ukraine.”
The Russian raids hit 15 places on Sunday, from Kramatorsk within the east to Mykolaiv within the south and Dnieper in between, Ukraine’s army mentioned.
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, joined Ukrainian officers in condemning the assaults.
“Russia’s obvious response to Ukraine liberating cities and villages within the east: sending missiles to aim to destroy important civilian infrastructure,” Brink tweeted.
Moscow denies its forces intentionally goal civilians.
‘A strategic victory for Ukraine’
The blackout got here after Ukrainian forces mentioned they'd recaptured dozens of cities and villages in japanese Ukraine and compelled Russian troops into retreat on Saturday.
The Ukrainian president on Sunday hailed his troops for his or her advance. Earlier, the top of the Ukrainian army introduced that as a lot as 3,000 sq. kilometres (1,158 sq. miles) had been wrested from Russia for the reason that offensive started at first of this month.
Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian forces who “liberated a whole bunch of our cities and villages … and most lately Balakliia, Izyum and Kupiansk,” naming three essential hubs lately captured by Kyiv.
The pullback marks the largest battlefield success for Kyiv’s forces since they thwarted Russia’s try and seize the capital Kyiv at first of the warfare.
The response in Moscow to the Ukrainian beneficial properties to date has been muted, however on Sunday a army map introduced by the Russian defence ministry confirmed that its forces had made a major withdrawal from the Kharkiv area.
Russia managed only a sliver of territory within the area’s east, behind the Oskil river, the revised map confirmed.
On Saturday, Moscow introduced it was “regrouping” its forces from Kharkiv to the Donetsk area to focus its army efforts there. Hundreds of Russian troopers left behind ammunition and tools as they fled Izyum, which they'd used as a logistics hub.
Chechen chief Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Sunday, criticised the Russian military’s efficiency.
Zelenskyy hailed the offensive as a possible breakthrough within the six-month-old warfare and mentioned the winter may see additional territorial beneficial properties if Kyiv acquired extra highly effective weapons.
International Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed the decision.
“Weapons, weapons, weapons have been on our agenda since spring. I'm grateful to companions who've answered our name: Ukraine’s battlefield successes are our shared ones,” he mentioned on social media.
“Immediate provides convey victory and peace nearer.”
Observers have mentioned that Ukraine’s strategic beneficial properties within the east have offered an “unwavering” worldwide group with proof of its forces’ capabilities.
“This can be a strategic victory for Ukraine – of far better significance than the defeat of the Russians in Kyiv in March,” Frank Ledwidge, an professional in army capabilities and technique on the College of Portsmouth, advised Al Jazeera.
He mentioned the counteroffensive confirmed the Ukrainians had the power to impose losses on the Russians.
“However it’s additionally an indication of their abilities and mixed arms warfare, and bringing the gear and coaching they’ve had over the previous couple of months all collectively to take again an space of land that’s far better than the Russians have taken since April.”
“It’s very vital and it demonstrates the Ukrainians’ functionality with deception,” he added. “It’s an intelligence coup and it’s a outstanding show of Russian ineptitude, notably within the intelligence realm.”
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