Are Russian forces now FREEZING Ukrainians out? Large swathes of four key cities face blackouts and water shortages after Putin’s rockets targeted power plants – in what Ukraine branded a ‘deliberate strategy’ as the cold winter looms

• Vladimir Putin attacked energy supplies in Ukraine yesterday in a deadly attack
• Blasts around four key cities left large swathes of Ukraine facing blackouts and water shortages
• Russia claims it has attacked strategic military targets in around four key cities
• The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said 19 people had died in the attacks

Vladimir Putin attacked energy supplies in Ukraine yesterday in a bid to leave the country in the cold this winter.

As Volodymyr Zelensky begged G7 leaders to protect his skies, air raid sirens blared across the country for a second day after a barrage of deadly strikes on Monday, forcing Ukrainians to take cover once again.

Despite Russia’s claims it has attacked strategic military targets, blasts around four key cities left large swathes of Ukraine facing blackouts and water shortages.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said: ‘These are war crimes planned well in advance and aimed at creating unbearable conditions for civilians.’ 

He said it was part of a ‘deliberate strategy’ by Moscow as winter approaches.

Vladimir Putin attacked energy supplies in Ukraine yesterday in a bid to leave the country in the cold this winter

Despite Russia’s claims it has attacked strategic military targets, blasts around four key cities left large swathes of Ukraine facing blackouts and water shortages

As Volodymyr Zelensky begged G7 leaders to protect his skies, air raid sirens blared across the country for a second day after a barrage of deadly strikes on Monday

The attacks formed part of apparent revenge strikes by Putin, who warned of a severe response after he declared the humiliating weekend bombing of a bridge to occupied Crimea, a military supply route, a ‘terrorist attack’.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said 19 people had died and 105 people were wounded in Monday’s strikes. 

At least seven of the victims were in the capital Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. More than 300 cities and towns lost power.

Western leaders meeting at the G7, a club for the world’s richest democracies, last night condemned the escalation in violence and vowed to ‘stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes’. 

Prime Minister Liz Truss and allies said ‘indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime’ and vowed to ‘hold President Putin and those responsible to account’.

Employees of a cafe serve visiters in a cafe without electricity in western Ukrainian city of Lviv, after three Russian missiles fired targeted energy infrastructure

President Zelensky called on the bloc to help him defend his people against Moscow’s attacks. 

‘When Ukraine receives a sufficient quantity of modern and effective air defence systems, the key element of Russia’s terror, rocket strikes, will cease to work,’ he told a virtual meeting.

A body lies underneath a blanket in Zaporizhzhia, a city in southern Ukraine, after a Russian airstrike hit a humanitarian convoy that was headed towards Russian-occupied territory

An aerial view shows how a single missile exploded close to the convoy, shredding the vehicles with shrapnel as people prepared to head into nearby Russian-occupied territory to visit relatives and distribute aid

Medics provide support to the survivors of a missile strike which hit a humanitarian convoy heading out of the Ukrainian-occupied city of Zaporizhzhia into nearby Russian territory this morning

‘I am asking you to strengthen the overall effort to help financially with the creation of an air shield for Ukraine,’ he added. 

He is thought to be looking at a system like Israel’s Iron Dome, which intercepts enemy rockets, sometimes totalling thousands a week.

Around half of the 84 missiles fired by Russia from land, air and sea on Monday were able to evade Kyiv’s defences. 

Yesterday 20 cruise missiles and 13 Iranian-made ‘kamikaze’ drones were shot down by Ukraine’s Air Force Command, but 33 strikes hit.

Ukrainian servicemen stand next to the body of a civilian killed by a missile strike near Zaporizhzhia

The US and Germany have vowed to speed up air defence deliveries in the wake of the fresh bombings, the worst since the beginning of the invasion in February.

 Undeterred, the Russian military struck again yesterday in a bid to terrorise the population and wipe out key infrastructure.

Deep inside Kyiv’s fortified metro stations, built to withstand a nuclear blast, hundreds of people hid in the labyrinth of tunnels as Ukraine’s air defence took out an incoming missile.

A body lies underneath a sheet next to a humanitarian convoy of cars that was headed out of the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia towards Russian-occupied territory nearby to distribute aid

‘We are afraid. But we are more irritated,’ said Helena Kucher, 44, who hunkered down on a platform with her ten-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son. 

They waited patiently, as her daughter Daria drew flowers in her notepad, for the all-clear alert to arrive on their mobile phones just after 1pm. 

Fearing future attacks, people deserted the streets – but for workers and residents clearing away debris. 

One person was killed when 12 missiles slammed into public facilities in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, setting off a large fire, Ukrainian emergency officials said. 

Lviv in western Ukraine came under fire for a second consecutive day with three explosions ringing out just after midday, taking out two energy facilities and injuring a 53-year-old man.

‘As a result of the missile strike, 30 per cent of Lviv is temporarily without electricity,’ mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that water supplies had been cut off in two districts of the city. 

In nearby Vinnytsia, drones crashed into a thermal power plant as the attacks on energy sites continued.

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office, warned the recent strikes ‘amount to a war crime’. 

‘Damage to key power stations and lines ahead of the upcoming winter raises further concerns for the protection of civilians and in particular the impact on vulnerable populations,’ she told journalists.

At an official ceremony in St George’s Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace today, where marble plaques engraved in gold commemorate Russian military heroes, Putin will preside over a treaty-signing proclaiming the annexation of four regions of Ukraine – the breakaway People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia

Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry confirmed on Tuesday that it had launched a series of long-range air strikes on a smaller scale than the previous day. 

‘The purpose of the strikes has been achieved. All designated facilities have been hit,’ officials in Moscow said.

It came as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov refused to rule out talks between Moscow and the West. 

It would leave the door open to a meeting between US president Joe Biden and Putin at the G20 summit in Indonesia next month, should the Kremlin despot confirm his attendance.

Meanwhile, a catering oligarch, dubbed Putin’s chef, who bankrolls the feared Wagner Group of mercenaries, suggested Russian MPs should join in the fighting themselves.

Yevgeny Prigozhin accused members of the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, of not being supportive enough of the war.

‘I’m calling on the talking heads to get together and lead units like Wagner, while those who lack managerial skills can pick up automatic rifles or at least sapper’s shovels,’ he said.

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