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Car traffic during a power outage in Kyiv (on November 11)
Photo: Andrew Kravchenko / dpa
What has happened in the past few hours
In Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, around 2,000 towns and villages occupied by Russian troops still have to be liberated.
According to the Presidential Office in Kyiv, he said this on Tuesday in a video message for French local politicians.
A few dozen places were completely destroyed by Russian attacks - such as the port city of Mariupol on the Azov Sea or Volnowacha in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine is trying to quickly bring life back to normal in recaptured towns, Zelensky said.
His country is therefore grateful for all the help in defense and reconstruction.
Wherever the Russian army withdraws, it plunders the occupied towns and villages again and destroys the infrastructure.
The Ukrainian army has so far liberated around 1,880 towns in the almost nine months of war, said the deputy chief of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
That says Kyiv
Zelenskyi also announced the establishment of more than 4,000 warming rooms for the population of the attacked country plagued by cold and darkness.
"All basic services are provided there," he said in his evening video address.
»This includes electricity, mobile communication and the Internet, heat, water, first aid.
Completely free of charge and 24/7.«
Selenskyj called the facilities in administration buildings or schools "points of stability".
The official name on a government website also translates to "points of steadfastness."
"I'm sure we can get through this winter together if we help each other," he said.
"Should there be another massive Russian attack and the power supply cannot be restored within a few hours, the work of the 'points of stability' will be activated," Zelenskyy said.
The local authorities should provide information "where to find support in the event of a prolonged power outage."
Companies are also asked to provide rooms or help.
As a result of the Russian attacks on the electricity grid, Ukraine has had to contend with power outages, but also with problems with heating, water and gas supplies.
Despite the government's efforts, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, expects a dramatic winter for the Ukrainian capital, which has a population of around three million.
"This is the worst winter since the Second World War," he told the "Bild" newspaper.
You have to be prepared for the "worst scenario" of widespread power failures at low temperatures: "Then parts of the city would have to be evacuated," he said.
"But we don't want to let it get that far!"
The former world boxing champion accused Russian head of state Vladimir Putin of trying to drive Ukrainians to flee Kyiv by attacking civilian infrastructure.
"Putin wants to terrorize people, let them freeze without light." This is how pressure should be exerted on the Ukrainian president.
'But that won't happen.
My impression is that people are only getting angrier, more determined.
We will not die or flee like Putin wants us to,” said Klitschko.
He asked Germany to urgently send generators, protective clothing and humanitarian goods in addition to weapons for defense.
Moscow says so
The city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia was attacked by Ukrainian drones on Tuesday, according to local authorities.
City chief Mikhail Raswoschajew announced that the anti-aircraft defense was in action.
Two drones were shot down.
They should have attacked a power and heating plant in the Balaklava district.
There was no damage.
The Black Sea Fleet intercepted three more drones over the sea near the port city.
As the naval base of the Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol is strategically important for Russia.
However, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked the city from the air with combat drones and once from the sea with remote-controlled unmanned boats.
Even if there was no major damage, Russia has moved some of its ships to the port of Novorossiysk on the mainland as a precaution.
humanitarian situation
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has appealed to the European Union not to become "tired" in the face of the war in Ukraine.
He called on his colleagues in the EU to put “all doubts” and “tiredness” aside and “complete the ninth sanctions package” that was “long overdue” “as soon as possible,” he said at an online press conference on Tuesday.
"If we Ukrainians are not tired, the rest of Europe has neither a moral nor a political right to be tired."
Kuleba called for the state nuclear operator Rosatom to be punished in particular for its role in the occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Sanctions that make it possible to "slow down" the Russian armaments industry are also important.
"Russia's ability to produce new missiles must be destroyed to prevent them from having additional resources to kill Ukrainians, destroy Ukrainian cities and the energy system," he argued.
International Reactions
The NATO member state of the Czech Republic is changing its defense plans because of the Russian war against Ukraine in order to be prepared for a possible escalation.
One must primarily prepare for a large-scale war against a highly developed opponent, said Chief of Staff Karel Rehka, according to the CTK agency on Tuesday in Prague.
Most recently, the training had focused more on participation in anti-terrorist and peacekeeping operations abroad, such as in Mali.
Rehka warned that the potential for escalation of the war in Ukraine would continue to grow.
Even the "serious scenarios" of further development could no longer be ruled out.
Germany's neighbor has been a member of the western defense alliance since 1999.
The Czech Republic has almost 27,000 professional soldiers and around 3,600 reservists.
General conscription was abolished in 2004.
A major investment program in the army is planned for the next few years.
jok/dpa/Reuters
