Millions of Ukrainians face a deadly winter — and it isn’t just the risk of being hit by Russian bombs.
Energy supply cuts caused by Russia’s heavy bombardment of the country’s infrastructure are combining with freezing cold winter weather to create a deadly cocktail, the World Health Organization has warned.
“This winter will be life-threatening for millions of people in Ukraine,” according to the organization’s director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri Kluge.
Average winter temperatures in Ukraine are around 27 degrees Fahrenheit, and are expected to reach -4 Fahrenheit in parts of the country in the coming months, the WHO said.
“Put simply, this winter will be about survival,” Kluge said in a statement. “Maternity wards need incubators. Blood banks need refrigerators. Intensive care beds need ventilators. And ALL require energy.”
Russian forces have heavily targeted power plants and electricity supply in recent weeks, plunging much of Ukraine into darkness, as Moscow was forced into humiliating retreats on the battlefield, including a full withdrawal from the key southern of Kherson.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also urged Ukrainians in his nightly address to do what they can to conserve energy use, particularly during peak hours. So far more than 6,500 civilians have been killed during the course of the war and more than 10,000 injured, according to the United Nations.
Last week he said a quarter of the population, some 10 million people, were without power.
Adding to the huge displacement of people within Ukraine and the movement of refugees to other countries, a further 2 to 3 million people could leave their homes in search of warmth and safety, the WHO added.
Hundreds of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals have no gas supply, which is used not just for heating but cooking. Some in Kyiv are relying on food deliveries, amid regular outages, while others use small gas-powered camping stoves. Some are already opting for two sleeping bags each at night.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said earlier this month that the city was preparing more than 1,000 heating points in case its district-wise heating system is completely disabled.Kluge warned that many will turn to alternative heating sources such as burning wood or charcoal, or using gasoline-powered generators, all of which release toxic gases.
Russia showed no signs of easing up on its bombing campaign as the WHO issued its warning. In fact, it has emerged that Moscow had signed a deal to obtain more of the armed drones that have caused so much destruction across Ukraine.
Two U.S. officials and one Western official confirmed that Iran has agreed to help Russia manufacture the armed drones, as reported earlier by the Washington Post. This could represent a significant boost in firepower for Russia beleaguered military, which has suffered a string of humiliating defeats.
Ukrainian officials say the wreckage of Shahed-136 drones — which are fitted with a warhead and fly directly into their target — have been found at the site of bomb attacks across the country.
Russia has yet to comment on the agreement.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update overnight that its forces repelled Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, two areas of eastern Ukraine that have been contested since Russian separatists declared them independent in 2014, but are now the target of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Russian aerial bombardment of the country continues with 81 shells hitting the Zaporizhzhia region yesterday and more than 100 hitting the northern regions of Sumy, local officials said.
Daryna Mayer and Dan De Luce contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
