Russia’s war on Ukraine latest news: Kyiv struggles to restore power

Reuters

12:47 JST, November 22, 2022

Ukraine urged residents of Kyiv and several other areas to limit electricity use as it seeks to recover from Russian strikes on the power grid while the elderly and vulnerable were preparing for a voluntary evacuation of war-ravaged Kherson.

LIFE IN UKRAINE

Ukrainians are most likely to live with blackouts at least until the end of March, the head of a major energy provider said. As they head into a cold winter, residents of a bombed-out Ukrainian village say they appreciate a warm bath in a mural painted by graffiti artist Banksy. The mural shows a man scrubbing his back in a bathtub.

CONFLICT

There are no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine despite shelling at the weekend that caused widespread damage, the U.N. atomic watchdog said after its experts toured the site. Moscow and Kyiv both blamed the other for the shelling of the facility. Russia’s leading war hawks rallied behind the humiliating decision for Moscow’s forces to retreat from the Ukrainian city of Kherson this month, but the commander who argued in favour of the move is now under growing pressure to prove it was worth it.

The Kremlin said it was not discussing calling up more Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine through a second round of mobilisation.

WAR CRIMES ACCUSATIONS

Ukrainian police and prosecutors have identified four places in Kherson where they suspect Russian forces tortured people before abandoning the city, the prosecutor general’s office said. The United States is monitoring allegations that Ukrainian forces summarily executed Russian troops. Russia’s defense ministry on Friday cited videos circulating on social media that allegedly showed Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war. The Kremlin said it would bring to justice those responsible.