Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv warned on Friday that the city's power network could be completely disrupted due to a Russian missile attack, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was separated from his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts A phone conversation was held in a quest to end the war.
We are preparing for various scenarios, including a complete blackout," Mikola Povoroznik, first deputy head of the Kyiv city state administration, said in televised commentary.
Local Ukrainian officials did not say what would happen if power were completely cut off, but officials said they were not considering evacuating any cities.
Russia
which has waged a war against Ukraine since late February - has escalated attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks, the country's energy infrastructure being severely damaged in heavy airstrikes on Tuesday and Thursday.
Kyiv is one of the cities hardest hit by missile and drone attacks, which have sometimes caused power, heating and water outages in many areas given the approaching winter.
Engineers are racing against time to fix the capital's power grid as the city receives its first snowfall of the season on Thursday.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmikhal said on Friday after talks with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis that "unfortunately, Russia continues to carry out missile attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine, and we are about Half the energy system has been disrupted."
Russia says it has launched several recent missile strikes in Ukraine targeting military headquarters and related energy facilities
Prisoner of war:
On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of executing more than a dozen Russian prisoners of war in the country's eastern Lugansk region.
In response to a video posted on Russian social media showing the execution of Russian prisoners of war, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, "This brutal killing of Russians is not the first and not the only war crime... It is a common practice of the Ukrainian armed forces. approach, which is strongly supported by the Kyiv regime and flagrantly ignored by its Western supporters."
The video shows around a dozen bodies as Russian soldiers apparently lie on the ground after surrendering to gunmen wearing yellow armbands before automatic gunfire blares in the Makivka region of Luhansk province (eastern Ukraine). It was unclear when or by whom the video clip was filmed.
Kyiv did not respond to Moscow's allegations, which Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in various parts of Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
Marta Hurtado,
a spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement to Reuters: "We are aware of these videos and are investigating them. Execute charges of soldiers leaving the field and prosecute any perpetrators."
The United Nations said earlier this week that it had spoken to Ukrainian prisoners of war held by the Russians who reported torture and ill-treatment, and said it had documented cases of Russian prisoners of war being mistreated in Ukrainian facilities.
Erdogan liaison
Political contacts between Ankara, Kyiv and Moscow were buoyant on Friday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly speaking on the phone over issues related to the war in Ukraine Conversation, meanwhile, Erdogan also had a separate call with the Ukrainian president.
Turkey's president said a prolongation of the Russia-Ukraine war would raise the stakes and that diplomatic talks must resume, noting that a meeting between Russian and U.S. intelligence officials in Turkey on Monday played an important role in preventing an escalation of the conflict.
In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman said dialogue with the West could become an important element in talks between Russia and Ukraine, adding that Kyiv was strictly following Western orders.
The Kremlin has ruled out a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden for now.
On Friday, the Kremlin said President Putin and Erdogan had stressed the importance of full and complete implementation of the Black Sea grain export deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he had discussed cooperation with his Turkish counterpart in the fields of energy and security, stressing that Ukraine would remain a guarantor of global food security.
Developments on the ground:
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday that its forces used long-range missiles to attack Ukrainian military and industrial facilities on Thursday, including missile manufacturing facilities.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian military said it shot down two Russian cruise missiles, five other missiles and five Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in the past 24 hours.
Moscow said on Friday it had conducted a successful test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, and Sergei Poroskan, deputy commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, said the new Russian ballistic missile would be ready to fly within the next 50 years. Continue to serve.
The Russian official added that the designated long service life of the Sarmat missile is due to its high reliability and characteristics.
Moscow conducted its first test of the Sarmat missile in April 2022, and President Putin said at the time that the weapon, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, would give Russia's enemies pause.
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