People 'risk freezing to death' as Russia attacks Ukraine's power grid

People in Ukraine are at risk of dying of cold this winter because of Russian attacks against power supplies, the governor of the eastern region of Donetsk has said.

Pavlo Kyrylenko told Sky News that the Ukrainian authorities are doing all they can to provide firewood and stoves to residents still living in frontline towns and villages in his province that have no electricity, gas or running water in sub-zero temperatures.

But he said the intensity of the Russian shelling means it is very difficult to repair critical infrastructure “so people have the worst and most difficult times”.

Special hubs – known as “points of invincibility” that provide a source of electricity and warmth – are also being offered even in areas where there is fighting.

“But the enemy understands this… and the enemy is firing and launching missile strikes precisely at these heating points,” Mr Kyrylenko said, speaking in the city of Kramatorsk.

Asked if he was worried that people could die this winter because of the cold, the governor said: “Due to the fact that there is no heating, there is a risk that people may die of hypothermia.”

But the most immediate threat is from Russian artillery and rocket fire.

The governor, dressed in military fatigues, said the fiercest fighting of the war at present is raging around the town of Bakhmut in his province, where Russian forces are trying to break through Ukrainian lines.

He said they would not succeed.

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Russian mercenaries and troops are concentrating their firepower on Bakhmut after suffering defeats in Kharkiv province, to the northeast, and in Kherson in the south.

“Therefore, the situation there is quite serious, because there is a large concentration of manpower, equipment, and all types of weapons: from airplanes to helicopters and small arms,” he said.

Why the battle for Bakhmut matters

The UK Ministry of Defence’s intelligence arm – Defence Intelligence – said in a post on Twitter in early December that Bakhmut has been Russia’s main “offensive effort” since August despite the town’s capture having only “limited operational value”.

It said the campaign had been “disproportionately costly” and that there was a “realistic possibility” that seizing the town has mainly become a “symbolic, political objective for Russia”.

Yet Ukraine is putting a lot of resources into defending it.

Mr Kyrylenko explained why preventing Russia from capturing Bakhmut matters.

Firstly, it was about denying the Kremlin the propaganda victory of being about to declare a victory after so many defeats, he said.

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Secondly, it was important to prevent Russian forces from making their move before temperatures drop substantially below freezing for the winter.

“Thirdly, the strategic capture of Bakhmut would give the enemy the ability to move in the direction of… settlements as Kostyantynivka, and Druzhkivka, and move to the north-central part of the region,” the governor said.

He said Ukrainian troops would “do everything to prevent this from happening”.

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