Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday warned that Kremlin-backed forces will continue to focus on destroying energy stations in a bid to destabilize the nation they invaded in February. Russian missile attacks struck his country’s north, south, east and west Saturday in a “barrage” of at least three dozen rockets that wiped out power to nearly 1.5 million people. Crews had revived electricity in some areas, Zelensky said Saturday evening, “but in many cities, in many districts, recovery work is still ongoing. We are trying to return power to people as soon as possible.”
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Meanwhile, Russian authorities in illegally annexed Kherson urged civilians to leave the city “immediately” Saturday afternoon in an effort to portray Kyiv as an aggressor in southern Ukraine and send residents into Kremlin strongholds. Ukrainian troops have been pushing out Russian forces in the country’s south and east, with clashes in cities that Kyiv seeks to liberate.
Earlier this week, Zelensky accused Moscow of seeking to blow up a major hydroelectric dam in Nova Kakhovka near Kherson, potentially flooding southern areas. “Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster,” he warned in a television address, urging the West to act “powerfully and quickly” to prevent such an outcome. Russia has denied the accusations.
