Zelensky criticizes Kyiv’s efforts amid outages: “Please be more serious”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized government efforts to resolve Kyiv’s power outages and called for officials to be “more serious” after a recent series of Russian missile strikes destroyed some of Ukraine’s energy facilities as the war hit its nine-month mark.

“Please pay attention. Kyiv residents need more protection,” the Ukrainian president said during an address on Friday, explaining that there are “many complaints in Kyiv about power-related issues.”

There are more than 4,000 Points of Invincibility at the moment in Ukraine, according to Zelensky. Those points provide basic necessities for Ukrainians such as heat, water, first-aid kits and power supplies.

He called on each leader “to ensure that everything that should be there for people really works.”

The Ukrainian president continued: “I expect quality work from the mayor’s office. No one will forgive anyone for desecrating the Kyiv Points of Invincibility. Please be more serious.”

“Points of Invincibility are deployed throughout the country. But I know that, unfortunately, not in all cities the local government has done a good job. In particular, there are many complaints in Kyiv,” Zelensky said Friday. “In fact, only the Points that are deployed at the base of the State Emergency Service and at the railway station of the capital are normally provided, and other Points still need to be improved, to put it mildly.”

As of Friday night, 600,000 people were disconnected from the grid in the city and many residents have experienced blackouts for over 20 hours, according to the Ukrainian president.

On Wednesday, Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid again, killing three people in a strike that hit a building in Kyiv, targeting energy facilities, according to Kyiv authorities. Power outages were reported in multiple cities, including Kyiv and Moldova.

Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo, said on Tuesday that recent Russian strikes essentially damaged all thermal and hydraulic power plants across the country.

Nearly 100 Russian missiles were launched toward mainly Ukrenergo substations, in addition to power plants, causing various levels of damage at 15 facilities.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., accused Russia of trying to freeze Ukraine “into submission” ahead of harsh winter months.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s motive could not be more clear and more cold-blooded. He is clearly—clearly—weaponizing winter to inflict immense suffering on the Ukrainian people. He has decided that if he can’t seize Ukraine by force, he will try to freeze the country into submission,” she said during a U.N. security council meeting this week.

Zelensky said on Friday that most regions in the country continue to experience blackouts, with almost 12 million people being disconnected from the grid on Wednesday night. Most of the power-related issues are centered in the capital and the regions of Odessa, Lviv, Vinnytsia and Dnipropetrovsk.

He urged Ukrainians in all regions to consume electricity within reason and urged them to save energy, adding that spiked power draws are recorded every night.

“If you don’t have a power outage, it doesn’t mean the problem is over. Please, if you have electricity, this does not mean that you can turn on several powerful electrical appliances at once,” he said during his address.

South Korea jumped to help the war-torn country in combating blackouts caused by Russian attacks.

Oleksandr Kornienko, first deputy chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, announced Friday that South Korea would provide 20 high-voltage generators and five mini-excavators. A charter flight is scheduled to deliver the generators December 12.

Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s foreign affairs ministry for comment.