Russia attacks 15 critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine today – official
On the night of Tuesday, January 13, Russia attacked 15 critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, including energy facilities, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territorial Development Kostiantyn Kovalchuk reported.
"Last night the enemy attacked 15 critical infrastructure facilities, including energy infrastructure, in particular thermal power plants and combined heat and power plants in various regions of Ukraine, as well as other important facilities involved in the operation of heat and water supply systems," Kovalchuk said during a briefing on Tuesday via Zoom.
He noted that this did not affect the situation with wastewater disposal and water supply. As for heating, he said that heating is available in 98.5% of residential buildings and 99% of social infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.
At the same time, according to him, following previous attacks on Kyiv, which is currently the focus of Russian strikes, as of 1:00 p.m. on January 13, 472 out of more than 12,000 buildings in the capital were without heating. Of these, 197 buildings were in the Pechersky district, 123 in Shevchenkivsky, and 71 in Holosiivsky.
"There is a set of relevant reasons for this. In some buildings, the heat carrier was drained or reduced, which largely made it possible to preserve the networks, but now the connection is taking place as a restart of the heating system," Kovalchuk explained.
He added that all available crews are working in the problematic districts, with additional teams being brought in from other areas.
According to him, despite the combination of severe weather conditions and concentrated strikes on critical infrastructure, "overall the situation in the country with water and heat is positive."
Deputy Minister of Energy Mykola Kolisnyk said that Russian strikes are now particularly focused on Kyiv and large population centers.
"Additional shelling does not add capacity for us, and this affects the pace of recovery we are able to achieve. The consequences of this attack are quite complex and are compounded by harsh weather conditions, which also affect localized power outages," Kolisnyk said.
He explained that fairly strict power supply restrictions are being applied precisely in order to balance the energy system and keep it intact.
"The most difficult situation right now is in the capital region, in Kyiv. This is the result of Russian strikes, but restoration work is continuing constantly," the deputy minister assured.
At the same time, he noted that energy officials cannot yet provide any forecasts, as it is difficult to predict the consequences of further Russian strikes, which, according to him, will continue.
As reported, since Tuesday morning, following another Russian attack, all of Kyiv and part of the region have been living under emergency power outage schedules.
