Proved
JF-Expert Member
- Sep 10, 2018
- 37,333
- 50,241
Russia has hit Ukraine’s power grid with over 1,200 missiles and drones, energy company says
From CNN's Maria Kostenko and Zahid MahmoodRussian forces have used over 1,200 missiles and drones to attack Ukraine’s energy system, according to a statement from the Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo.
Ukrenergo did not indicate a specific time period in its statement.
Since October, Moscow’s forces have launched hundreds of missiles and drones at energy infrastructure far from the front line, temporarily cutting off electricity, heat and water to millions.
Of the 1,200 missiles, 250 hit Ukrenergo sites, causing damage to 43% of Ukraine’s main power grid, according to the utility. All thermal and hydroelectric power plants sustained varying degrees of damage, the company said.
The cost of emergency repairs to the energy grid will reach more than $1 billion, the statement said, citing an estimate by the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme.“During the coldest six months of the year, the enemy has been trying to take away power and heat from us by destroying our energy infrastructure,” Ukrenergo said.
Ukrenergo said it has received almost 500 units of replacement equipment, and more is set to be manufactured and sent to Ukraine.
Supporters, including Wagner head Prigozhin, attend funeral of Russian pro-war blogger killed in blast
From CNN’s Uliana PavlovaSupporters of Russian war military blogger Maxim Fomin, known under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, attended his funeral in Moscow on Saturday.
Tatarsky was killed on April 2 in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg where he was appearing as a guest of a pro-war group. Russian investigators formally charged anti-war activist Daria Trepova with terrorism offenses, claiming she was responsible for the killing.
Among those who showed up for the funeral was Wagner private military company head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who brought an engraved sledgehammer — a notorious symbol of Wagner that is used to execute deserters.
"Today I would like to express gratitude to Vladlen Tatarsky on behalf of myself and the Wagner PMC fighters. Vladlen Tatarsky did a lot so that we could go to victory and destroy the enemy," Prigozhin said in a Telegram post.
The engraved writing on the sledgehammer read: "To Vladlen Tatarsky from PMC Wagner fighters. Your work will live on."
Near the sledgehammer was an Order of Courage award signed by President Vladimir Putin, according to live footage from the funeral.
Leonid Slutsky, the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said during a formal part of the funeral at the Troekurovsky cemetery that "the point of no return has long been passed."
"We will win, including for the sake of Maxim. His whole life was like a bright flash," he continued.
"Not all of us will live to see the end of this bloody war," Slutsky added.
Some background: A video from the scene appears to shows Tatarsky and Trepova interacting with each other moments before the explosion.
According to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, a witness said Terpova gave the statuette to the host, before moving to a different part of the room. The video itself does not show her handing the statue to him.
On Monday, Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee accused Ukrainian intelligence and associates of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny of organizing the killing of Tatarsky.
Also, Russia’s independent news outlet Fontanka has reported that the cafe belongs to Prigozhin, citing a mention of the company Concord’s ownership on the cafe’s receipt. Prigozhin is the founder and sole owner of Concord, according to public records.
When asked to confirm whether he was the owner of the cafe, Prigozhin did not deny it.
In comments published Monday by Concord on its VK social media page, Prigozhin said: “Indeed, I gave the cafe to the patriotic movement Cyber Front Z, and they held various seminars there."