Russia launched a barrage of new missile attacks on Ukraine's devastated electricity grid on Wednesday, causing cities to lose power, water, and transportation as well, according to a report by AP.
Aerial attacks on power grids also knocked off internet connections and nuclear power reactors, spreading outages into Moldova, a neighboring country.
Reduced Energy Supplies
Attacks in fast succession were recorded in numerous places. According to the Energy Ministry of Ukraine, supplies were reduced to the great majority of energy consumers.
According to Kyiv's mayor, the entire city lost water. The second-largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, in the northeast, lost power as well, and the city's public transportation was halted.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorized the ambassador of Ukraine to the United Nations to ask for an emergency Security Council meeting.
For weeks, Russia has been bombarding the electrical grid and other facilities with missiles and drone explosions, according to AP.
Zelenskyy claimed that strikes had already damaged almost half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure and that millions of Ukrainians had grown accustomed to the horrible new normal of power outages before the most recent bombardment.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched about 70 cruise missiles, of which 51 were shot down along with five drones that exploded. The barrage's afternoon timing, as was also the case the week before, forced crews to work into the winter's pitch black to retrieve supplies.
Water and heating would only be restored to residential structures in Kyiv on Thursday morning, according to the government.
The biggest internet outage to hit Ukraine in months as well as Moldova, a neighboring country that has now partially recovered, were both brought on by Wednesday's blackouts, according to Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at network-monitoring Kentik Inc.
US Senators Want to Send Drones to Ukraine
Meanwhile, in the US, senators from both Democratic and Republican parties are urging the Biden administration to send Ukraine MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones to help its forces against its ongoing conflict with Russia.
The "press reporting" that the Pentagon had decided against sending the drones to Kyiv was disputed by 16 Senate Republicans and Democrats, several of whom are members of the Armed Services Committee.
The letter from the senators asks Secretary of Defense Austin to explain by November 30 as to why the Pentagon thought the drone was inappropriate for the battle in Ukraine.
The drones, which have a 29,000-foot service ceiling and a maximum payload capacity of four Hellfire missiles, were made by General Atomics.
Russian-installed governor in Crimea Mikhail Razvozhaev stated on Tuesday morning that two drones had been taken down in Sevastopol, where Russian air weapons had been deployed.
Since April, Pentagon officials have been debating Ukraine's request for the system, but discussions have stalled due to concerns over the system's security and viability for the country's escalating air war.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Defense Department opted against moving the Gray Eagle drones due to concerns that Moscow may escalate tensions with NATO if it knew they might attack Russian territory.
The Pentagon is yet to make a final decision on this subject.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Jace Dela Cruz
