Ukraine’s energy shortage forces refugees to stay away

Ukraine: Drones fly directly over Kyiv

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Russia has been hitting Ukraine with a barrage of cruise-missile and drone attacks aimed at the country’s electrical infrastructure in order to try and freeze out its resilience in the hopes it will eventually submit to Moscow. Despite the attacks, Ukraine has been successful in shooting down many of the drones and missiles.

The country has also been quick to restore power to many affected areas, though overall capacity is struggling, meaning that rationing is increasingly likely.

Ukraine’s deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that a number of blackouts in Kyiv and other areas have been caused by The Kremlin’s attacks targeting power stations.

The minister said that the attacks and subsequent blackouts are putting a strain on the nation.

Ms Vereshchuk was interviewed on national television on Tuesday and told Ukrainian refugees not to come home this winter.

Ukrainians who fled to other countries for safety during the conflict have been encouraged to wait until spring until they attempt to return to their homeland.

She said: “I wanted to ask people not to return. We need to survive the winter.”

Residents of Kyiv have been warned by officials to prepare for the likelihood of blackouts lasting a number of days or possibly weeks.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the grid “won’t survive” if the refugees return from abroad and warned that the issue would “only get worse”.

She added: “To return now is to risk yourself and your children, your vulnerable relatives.”

Recent data from the UN Refugee Agency shows that over 7.7 million refugees from Ukraine are sheltering across Europe.

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The continent is struggling with the ongoing cost of living crisis which has been worsened by inflation and the conflict in Ukraine.

Sky News’ Europe Correspondent Adam Parsons is currently in Kyiv and has experienced the blackouts and the continued resilience of Ukrainians.

Mr Parsons visited Pozniaki, a Kyiv suburb suffering from power outages where he met 66-year-old Nina.

According to the journalist: “She says the apartment would be almost impossible to inhabit in winter if there were no electricity to power the heating system. ‘But let’s live and see how it will be’.”

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