Satellite shows Ukraine in the dark after Russian attacks; Look

The effects of Russia’s campaign against Ukraine’s power system, with weekly bombings since early October, are visible from space.

This Friday (25), the American space agency Nasa released a satellite image that encompasses Europe and the part of Russia that is on the continent on the night of Wednesday (23). The view is of a black hole on the map, with some blurs of light in larger cities such as Kiev and Lviv contracting with surrounding flares — particularly the greater Moscow region.

The attack with cruise and ballistic missiles against electricity generation and distribution targets, with the consequent impact on the water supply, is a tactic adopted by Vladimir Putin after the Ukrainians successfully targeted the bridge that connects Crimea annexed in 2014 to Russia .

This occurred on October 8, and two days later dozens of missiles and drones fell on Ukraine, resuming a pattern not seen since the beginning of the war. The action also coincides with Moscow’s military difficulties in the field, with the retreat of troops to defensive positions in the annexed region of Kherson (south), abandoning the regional capital.

Analysts see Putin buying time to reorganize his forces, waiting for the effect of mobilizing more than 300,000 reservists. The government in Kiev and the UN, in turn, add to this the idea that the Kremlin wants to subject the Ukrainian people to great difficulties during the freezing winter that is already settling in the region.

With temperatures already around zero degrees, without heating and lighting, dissatisfaction with the government of Volodymir Zelenskiy is growing. The president, in turn, bets on the resurgence of the spirit of resistance in the face of adversity, and works against time to mitigate the effects of the attacks.

This Friday, the state distribution company, Ukrenergo, said that there are difficulties in repairing networks “due to strong winds, rain and subzero temperatures at night”. As reported on Facebook, the emergency work made it possible to increase the capacity to meet the country’s consumption needs to 70%, forcing scheduled blackouts to save electricity.

Russian attacks come in waves, usually once a week. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Austrian Volker Türk, “millions were thrown into extreme difficulty”. He said on Friday that at least 77 people had died in the current air campaign.

“Viewed as a whole, this [os ataques] raise serious issues under international humanitarian law, which requires a concrete military objective for every object attacked,” he said in a statement.

Türk, on the other hand, also pointed the finger at Kiev, saying videos that had been circulated showing the execution of unarmed Russian soldiers by Ukrainians “are most likely authentic” in a show that war crimes occur on all sides in the conflict.

Russia has tried to paint Ukraine’s power grid as a legitimate military target, denying any intention to break the will of the population.

Also on Friday, President Putin released a pre-recorded message from a meeting he had with mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. He complained about what he called fake news about the situation of his forces in the field and said he sympathized with the plight of the families.

“I would like you to know that I personally, and the entire leadership of the country, share your pain,” he said.