For months, Russia has been targeting key infrastructure facilities in Ukraine with missiles and drones, disrupting the water, heating and electricity supplies of millions of people.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the Ukrainians for surviving a winter marked by systematic Russian attacks on energy facilities, plunging millions into darkness and cold.
“We have been victorious this winter. It was a very difficult period and every Ukrainian experienced this difficulty, but we were still able to provide power and heat to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in his daily speech on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the first day of spring as another “great defeat” for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“We survived the most difficult winter in our history. It was cold and dark, but we were unbreakable,” Kuleba said in a statement.
Aid agencies had warned at the start of the winter that the targeted campaign would force a new wave of migration into Europe and that Ukraine’s priority would be to “survive” through the months of freezing cold.
The Kremlin said Kiev was responsible for the civilian suffering caused by the massive power cuts because it refused to capitulate to Moscow’s wartime demands.
But the power grid is stabilizing and Ukrainian energy supplier Ukrenergo said on Wednesday there had been “no power shortage” for more than two weeks.
“Engineers are also continuing repairs to all power system facilities previously damaged by Russian missile and drone strikes,” it said.
The war in Ukraine has caused Europe to shake its heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas amid waves of sanctions aimed at curbing Moscow’s ability to fund its military from energy revenues.
“The EU also won, and contrary to Moscow’s laughter, it did not freeze without Russian gas. One piece of advice to Russia: choke on your gas and choke on your missiles,” Kuleba added in the statement.
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