Ukraine faces extreme temperatures as millions remain without power in kyiv

First modification: 11/28/2022 – 00:02Last modification: 11/28/2022 – 00:08

With freezing temperatures day and night in kyiv, millions of residents in and around the Ukrainian capital still have limited access to electricity and heating. The operator of the national electricity grid, Ukrenergo, announced on Saturday that electricity production could only cover three-quarters of consumption needs and that restrictions and cuts in the national supply would be necessary.

For his part, Sergei Kovalenko, director of operations of Yasno, the company that supplies electricity to kyiv, said that the situation had improved in the city, but that it was still “quite complicated”. He explained that the residents would benefit from access to electricity for four hours a day.

In the midst of this situation that directly affects millions of homes, the mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said in a video broadcast on Telegram that 430 reception centers had been created for residents suffering from cold and that more than 100 of these spaces They are prepared in case of extreme conditions.

Meanwhile, bad weather conditions at the front have slowed down the pace of military operations in recent days, according to the latest report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington. The ISW claims that the armed forces, having to deal with heavy rain and muddy terrain, are slowing down their advance.

But this situation should not last: the pace of operations could pick up again in the coming weeks due to lower temperatures and frozen ground. The ISW said it was not clear “whether either side is currently preparing a major offensive or a counter-offensive” in Ukraine.

Residents flee Kherson, target of Russian bombing

Relatively safe since the start of the conflict, Kherson has been subjected to deadly shelling since the withdrawal of Russian troops two weeks ago. To escape the attacks from Moscow, many residents have chosen to flee the city.

As of Saturday, at least 32 people had been killed in Russian airstrikes in this region of southern Ukraine since the withdrawal of pro-Moscow forces two weeks ago, the police chief said on November 26.

“Daily Russian shelling is destroying the city and killing peaceful residents. In total, Russia has killed 32 civilians in the Kherson region since the vacation,” National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said in a post by Facebook.

Ukraine launches grain export program to African countries

On the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, the great famine orchestrated by the Stalinist regime in the 1930s, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launched the ‘Ukrainian Grain’ programme, a plan to export grain to the poorest countries in Africa. .

“We plan to send at least 60 ships from Ukrainian ports to countries most at risk of famine and drought,” the Ukrainian president said.

Volodimir Zelensky announced that he had raised $150 million from more than 20 countries and the European Union to export to Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

In a video message, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised six million euros in additional aid for Ukrainian cereal exports, vital for the supply of many countries in Africa and Asia.

The French president also recalled the “great tragedy” of the famine of the 1930s.

“From yesterday to today, the Ukrainian nation shows its determination and deserves our admiration,” said the French president. “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine… threatens the world with a food crisis.”

With Reuters and AFP