The United Nations said that millions of Ukrainian citizens were plunged into extreme hardship and "appalling conditions of life" due to Russia's continuous strikes on Kyiv's energy infrastructure.
The statement, released by UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk on Friday, added that the global agency's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine confirmed the deaths of 77 civilians. The number of fatalities was counted from when Russia began its "ongoing barrage of missile strikes and loitering munition attacks" on Oct. 10.
Russia's Missile Strikes on Ukraine
The situation comes as German authorities said that they were in talks with allies over the delivery of Patriot missile systems to aid Ukraine in the battle against Russia. The country's federal government spokeswoman, Christiane Hoffman, said that they were talking about how to handle Poland's suggestion.
Hoffman noted that Germany did not want to "speculate" whether or not Poland would change its plans to accept its support. She added that she did not want to interpret what officials have said, for fear of misinterpreting their words, as per CNN.
Previously, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that Germany should send Patriot missile air defense systems directly to Ukraine instead of through Poland. The official's comments came after Germany offered Poland support regarding the provision of anti-missile systems, including the Patriot missile systems, to Poland in order to aid Warsaw to strengthen its air defense capacity.
The situation came after a Russian missile strike on Ukraine also destroyed infrastructure in Polish territory on Nov. 15. Poland and NATO leaders argued that the missiles, which resulted in the death of two people, were most likely fired by Ukrainian forces who were trying to defend their country against a barrage of Russian strikes.
According to France24, a Kherson official said that following Russia's barrage of missile strikes, 15 civilians were killed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the mayor of Kyiv was doing a poor job of setting up emergency shelters in support of the civilians who were left without heat and power.
Damage to Energy Infrastructure
After Ukraine defended against Moscow's flurry of missile strikes, it established thousands of so-called "invincibility centers" where there is access to heat. Water. Internet, and mobile phone links. Zelensky said in his nightly address that more work was needed in order to support Ukrainian civilians amid the crisis. He added that the level of services available in many centers in Kyiv was not good enough.
Later, France and Germany pledged to provide each other with mutual support in preventing a potential energy crisis after supplies from Russia dried up amid the invasion of Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne signed a joint agreement that would have Germany provide France with electricity while receiving gas in return.
The latest Russian barrage on Wednesday involved 70 cruise missiles that affected Ukraine's basic services. Ukrainian authorities reported that the services were slowly but steadily returning to operation on Thursday and Friday. Officials added that they successfully defended against 50 of the 70 missiles, which is in line with recent claims that it usually knocks out two-thirds to three-quarters of incoming fire from Russia, NPR reported.
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