Ukraine water, power cuts after 'massive' Russian missile attack

In this file photo, workers examine damage as they repair power line equipment destroyed after a missile strike on a power plant, in an undisclosed location of Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Ukraine suffered sweeping blackouts and water supplies were cut for 80 percent of Kyiv residents on Monday after what Ukrainian officials called another "massive" Russian missile attack on energy facilities. "More than 50" cruise missiles were launched at targets across the country early on Monday, the Ukrainian army said on Telegram. "From 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on October 31, Russian occupiers carried out several waves of missile attacks against critical infrastructure in Ukraine," the army said, adding that "44 missiles" had been shot down. Several blasts shook the capital Kyiv, days after Russia blamed Ukraine for drone attacks on its Crimea fleet in the Black Sea. "Currently, due to the emergency situation in Kyiv, 80 percent of consumers remain without water supply," the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. "Engineers are also working to restore power to 350,000 homes in Kyiv that were left without electricity," he added. At least five explosions were heard in the city between 8:00 am and 8:20 am local time, according to AFP journalists. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said there were power cuts in "hundreds" of urban settlements across seven Ukrainian regions. "Russian terrorists have again launched a massive attack against electricity installations," said the deputy head of Ukraine's presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

'Cold winter ahead'

Near one of the sites targeted north of Kyiv, a soldier told AFP that three missiles had struck. "It is dangerous here because there could be more strikes," the soldier said at a blocked crossroads. In a nearby town, Mila Ryabova, 39, told AFP she was woken by between eight and 10 "powerful explosions". "We were together with my family, preparing my daughter for school, but now there is no electricity in our house and at school," said Ryabova, a translator. "I'm not afraid of anything. (Some people) are still in shelters now, but not us. "But we are worrying and talking about opportunities to move abroad, because there is a cold winter ahead. We may not have electricity, heat supply. It can be hard to handle, especially with a small child." Similar attacks targeted infrastructure across Ukraine, including Lviv in the west, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast. The Moldovan government said a Russian missile shot down by Ukrainian air defences fell on a village in northern Moldova on Monday, but without causing any injuries. The country's interior ministry said the missile fell on the village of Naslavcea close to the Ukrainian border. "Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Russia fights civilians," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

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