Several important infrastructures for the distribution of electricity and mains water in eastern Ukraine were bombed as night fell on Sunday. The Kiev government immediately accused Moscow of the blackout that has affected several regions and conducting attacks in retaliation for the positions it has lost on the battlefield in recent days. These attacks come after Russian forces pulled out of north-eastern Ukraine as local forces continue the largest frontline counter-offensive in six months, recapturing another 20 cities from Russian hands in the last day alone, according to the Ukrainian general staff. In the places bombed by Russia “there are no military installations. The goal is to deprive people of light and heating,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Twitter account. On Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that its forces are conducting airstrikes in the Kharkov region, Russia’s state news agency RIA reported.
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The bombings took place not only in Kharkov, but also in two other eastern regions: Zaporizhia and Dnipro. In Kharkiv, power plant number five in the suburb of Podvirky, southwest of the regional capital of the same name, was badly damaged. The city tried to return to normal this Monday at dawn on the 201st day since Russia invaded Ukraine, but by the early hours of the morning power had not been restored in 20% of the city, according to network local authorities Telegram. Kharkov, the country’s second largest city, had a population of one and a half million when the invasion began and is the scene of attacks almost daily. In neighborhoods like Nemyshlianskiy there are houses that currently have electricity but no running water, neighbors have confirmed to the EL PAÍS special envoy. Some residents take it philosophically and almost as an anecdote to have to start the week at home in the dark and without showering.
Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway company and the country’s main employer with 230,000 employees, is singing victory on its social media for having managed to keep the main services running with hardly any train delays.
Ukraine confirmed on Monday that the counter-offensive by its troops would continue. According to the Kiev General Staff, its forces have recaptured 20 towns and villages from Russian hands in the last day alone. “They take full control and apply stabilization measures [en esas localidades]” reported the Ukrainian military command. After the recapture of these 20 towns, 50 towns or villages in the south-east of Kharkov province have been withdrawn from Russian control since the beginning of September, according to Kyiv. Among the places that have been in Moscow’s hands in recent months, there are some strategic points for the logistics of the invading forces, such as Isium or Kupiansk.
Ukrainian firefighters put out a blaze on Sunday after a Russian missile attack hit a power plant in Kharkiv. Kostiantyn Liberov (AP)
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flowers and hugs
Local authorities, neighbors and the military themselves record videos of the cities liberating them from the invaders. Citizens, who in many cases have been living among Russian troops for more than six months, greet the soldiers with bouquets of flowers, kisses and hugs. With the area off-limits to reporters, this is largely the only sign of the Ukrainian army’s advance on the ground so far.
The Kharkov region in the north-east is currently the spearhead from which local troops launched the largest battlefield counter-offensive of the war so far in early September. A Kremlin official allegedly serving in the region has admitted that the number of Ukrainian soldiers currently outnumbers Russians and pro-Russian militiamen by eight times, reports Portal. Speaking to Russian state TV channel Rossiya-24, that official, Vitaly Ganchev, also explained that about 5,000 civilians had been evacuated to the Russian side of the border after Moscow authorities called on citizens of the areas Kyiv had ceded to them to leave them Ukraine.
On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry released a map showing how its forces had withdrawn from almost the entire Kharkov region. The day before, the same institution had assured that withdrawing its military was part of its plan. “In order to achieve the goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbass, the decision was made to regroup Russian troops stationed in Balakleya and Izium to intensify efforts towards Donetsk,” said their spokesman Igor Konashenkov, who designated the Withdrawal as “distraction measures”.
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