The United Nations says Russia’s military is increasingly attacking Ukraine’s civilian population and energy infrastructure with drones.
Matthias Schmale, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, warned on Friday of a possible “tipping point” that could trigger new mass population movements.
Schmale said that 3.6 million people have already been internally displaced in Ukraine. Some of them have been living in emergency shelters for two years or more.
He described the drone strikes as “psychological terror.” People have reported drones following them through the streets and have described the eerie uncertainty created by never knowing whether they are reconnaissance drones or attack drones.
The increasing use of drones is increasingly impacting the civilian population, Schmale said in Geneva. He wants to raise more donations to help people get through the coming winter months.
Sixty-five percent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been partially damaged, much of it this year, Schmale said. With foreign support, the authorities are doing everything they can to recover as much as possible before the winter, in a race against time.
It is particularly difficult to supply energy to people living in tall buildings, he said. Measures being prepared include communal meeting places where they can warm up, take hot showers or get hot meals.
Ukraine has been fending off a large-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
Russia’s Krasnodar sees a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack
Russia, meanwhile, said it repelled numerous Ukrainian drone attacks in the early hours of Friday.
The Defense Ministry said 51 drones were destroyed over the Krasnodar and Belgorod regions, as well as over Russia-annexed Crimea and the Sea of Azov.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that one of the targets was the Krymsk military airport in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, which is more than 300 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian frontline.
The region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, wrote on his Telegram channel that “a huge drone attack” had taken place, adding that there had been no casualties.
However, three civilians and three soldiers were injured in attacks in the Belgorod border area, the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram.
Over the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been going on for more than two and a half years, Ukraine has repeatedly carried out counterattacks on Russian territory.
Kiev’s goal is to destroy Russia’s supply routes and military infrastructure.
Women help clean the sports complex of the Zaporizhia Polytechnic National University, damaged by a nighttime Russian airstrike. -/Ukrinform/dpa
