The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, wept during a traditional prayer in central Rome when he mentioned the suffering of Ukrainians.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that his country will continue to carry out strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which have already caused power and water outages in winter weather conditions.
"Yes, we are doing it, but who started it," Putin said on the sidelines of a medal ceremony in the Kremlin, presenting the shelling in response to an explosion that damaged the Russian-built Crimean bridge and other attacks attributed to Kiev.
He also said that Kiev had cut off electricity to the Kursk nuclear power plant in the Russian region bordering Ukraine and was not supplying water to the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Donetsk in the east of the country.
"Not supplying water to a city of one million inhabitants is an act of genocide," he said, accusing the West of turning a blind eye to the actions of Ukrainian officials.
"From our side, as soon as we start doing something in response, noise and uproar spreads throughout the world," Putin said.
"It will not hinder us in fulfilling our combat mission," he added.
Since the attack on the Crimean bridge in October, Russia has carried out numerous missile attacks on civilian energy infrastructure, leaving millions of Ukrainians without electricity, water and heating at a time when the temperature drops below freezing.
According to the Ukrainian operator Ukrenergo, the electricity system was still experiencing a significant deficit today after the latest Russian strikes on Monday.
Ukraine has imposed new emergency restrictions on electricity supplies as it tries to repair energy infrastructure damaged by Russian airstrikes.
The Ukrainian electricity distributor Ukrenergo announced that from 11:XNUMX a.m. there were significant power outages due to damage to power plants and the high-voltage network caused by Russian missile strikes.
The situation is aggravated by bad weather in the western regions of Ukraine.
As they stated, frost, rain, snow and strong winds caused the electric grid to freeze, but it was most severe in the eastern areas where the Russian attacks were the fiercest.
The head of the Zaporozhye region, Oleksandar Starukh, said that all regions lack energy up to a third of what is needed, reports Reuters.
The largest private producer of electricity in Ukraine, DTEK, announced that there have now been emergency power cuts in the capital city of Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, in the southern region of Odessa and Dnieper in central Ukraine.
The latest major wave of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure was on Monday.
Russia announced that its troops are participating in tactical exercises in Belarus, Reuters reports.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that "members of the Western Military District continue intensive combat training at the training grounds of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus."
Some point out that Moscow is pressuring its ally to get more involved in the war in Ukraine.
Belarus has said it will not enter the war, but the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, earlier ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing threats from Kiev and the West.
At least ten people were killed in Russian shelling in the east of Ukraine, and many were wounded, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky said of the attack that took place in the city of Kurakhovo that it was "very fierce and absolutely calculated".
"These were peaceful people, ordinary people," Zelenski said in a video address at night.
"At the market, in the elevator, at the gas station, at the bus station, and in the apartment building. At the moment, the list of dead is ten, and many are injured," Zelenski said, reports Slobodna Evropa.
Zelensky also said that four policemen were killed by a Russian mine while they were working to stabilize the energy grid in the southern Kherson region. Four other police officers were treated for injuries.
Russia denies that it is deliberately targeting civilians, but Russian forces have targeted cities across Ukraine.
On February 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. Since then, thousands of people have been killed, millions have been displaced, Ukrainian cities have been destroyed, and the global economy has been shaken.
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