Russian President Vladimir Putin made public remarks addressing Russian military attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday as he held a glass of champagne at a reception in the Kremlin.
Speaking after an award ceremony for “Heroes of Russia”, he addressed the group of soldiers receiving the awards and commented on the attacks: “Yes, we are doing this. But who started it?
Nine months after ordering the Russian military to invade Ukraine, Putin went on to list a series of events he blames on Ukrainians: “Who hit the Crimean bridge? Who blew up the power lines at the Kursk nuclear power plant?”
Putin’s comments referred to an explosion on the Kerch Bridge on Oct. 8, when a truck exploded at the strategic crossing, causing extensive damage. The Ukrainians never claimed responsibility, but the Kremlin was quick to blame Kiev.
In the days following the bridge explosion, Putin said that “further acts of terrorism on Russian soil will be tough… make no mistake about it.”
Last week, Putin appeared on the Kerch Bridge, where he saw repairs and drove a car across the structure he officially opened in 2018.
In his appearance at the Kremlin on Thursday, Putin went on to say: “Who is not supplying water to Donetsk? Not providing water to a city of one million people is an act of genocide.”
He ended his comments by claiming that people seem to refrain from mentioning that Donetsk’s water has been cut off: “Nobody has said a word about it anywhere. No way! Complete silence.”
The Russian president succinctly compared the difference in reactions to attacks on Russia and attacks on Ukraine.
The Russian president concluded his speech by adding that he “will not interfere with our combat missions”, before raising a toast to listening soldiers.
Ukraine has faced a broad attack on infrastructure and energy sources since early October. The attack left millions across the country facing power cuts amid freezing temperatures.
On Monday, Russia unleashed a new wave of drone and missile attacks on energy infrastructure across Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks caused major power outages in several regions, including Kiev and Odesa.
Repair work to fix infrastructure facilities across Ukraine is ongoing. Most power plants are now supplying power to the national grid after they were temporarily shut down in late November when Moscow sent a barrage of missiles to hit power “generation facilities”, said Ukrenergo, state-owned power operator. Ukraine.
However, a “significant deficit” persists in the country’s power system caused by months of strikes, causing limits on consumption, the operator said. Ukrainian authorities are engaged in the delicate work of trying to balance the national power grid, leaving many homes without electricity.
In a November statement, Ukrenergo acknowledged that the race to restore power to homes is being hampered by “strong winds, rain and sub-zero temperatures”.
“The pace of restoration [para consumidores domésticos] is delayed by difficult weather conditions,” he said, with the damage “exacerbated by freezing and snapping of wires in distribution networks.”
A senior Ukrainian official said the attacks on the country’s power grid amounted to genocide. Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin made the comments when speaking to the BBC last month.
Source: CNN Brasil
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