The temperature is freezing this time of year Kyiv, Ukraine. But almost half of the region’s civilian population has been left without heat and electricity, as Russian airstrikes cripple the country’s energy infrastructure.
“You don’t have water, you don’t have heating. It is impossible to live like this. And this is what Putin is trying to do with the Ukrainians,” Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko told Fox News Digital.
As the ground hardens and snow begins to fall, the war in Ukraine turns into a winter offensive, with the Russians demolishing more power plants than military bases, targeting Ukrainian civilians.
Honcharenko lives in Odessa, on which the main burden lies Russia strikes and relies on backup power to keep the city running.
A man sees destroyed Russian tanks near Buchi on December 5, 2022 in Buchi, Ukraine. Ukrainian officials are expecting a new wave of Russian bombings this week, with previous attacks targeting critical infrastructure and causing widespread water and power outages, including in the capital, Kiev.
(Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)
UKRAINE SAYS 60 OF 70 RUSSIAN MISSILES WERE SHOT DOWN IN BARREL OF STRIKES
“Wife, two children without electricity, without water, without everything. Repairs are underway. So we hope that the situation will improve,” Honcharenko said. “But we know that Russia can attack again. And unfortunately, I think that’s going to happen.”
In response, the Ukrainians take the fight to Putin. On Monday, Ukraine reportedly struck two Russian military bases 300 miles overseas, in the heart of enemy territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine used drones to strike an oil facility 80 miles from Ukraine.
“Thousands of Ukrainians are dying. Our country is destroyed. The attacks were organized from the territory of Russia,” Honcharenko said. “It is clear that we have every right.”
But this strategy has its flaws — Western allies have been wary of giving Ukraine weapons that can reach Moscow.
The Wall Street Journal On Monday, it was exclusively reported that the US has modified advanced Himars missile launchers so that they do not have the ability to fire long-range fire at Russia. In June, the United States handed over at least 20 Himars rocket launchers to Ukraine.
“We are not allowing Ukraine to strike from behind outside its borders,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday. “Everything we do, everything the world does to support Ukraine, is to support Ukraine’s independence. Its sovereignty, its territorial integrity are preserved. This does not encourage Ukraine to strike outside its borders.”
PUTIN HOLDS INTERNAL SECURITY COUNCIL AFTER EXPLOSIONS AT 3 AIR BASES
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS) takes part in a military exercise near Liepaja, Latvia, on September 26, 2022.
(Reuters)
“With more weapons we can end this war very quickly and it won’t escalate because if [so] This bloodshed will continue for years,” Honcharenko said. “Don’t forget that for the Russians this is not a war against Ukraine. This is a war against the West that the USA has started. And Putin… speaks absolutely openly.”
While Ukraine is developing its own arsenal of weapons, Russia in recent months, guided by Western sanctions, has been creating its own weapons. Report from Conflict Armament Research (CAR) investigators said that the remnants of the rockets fired at Kiev on November 23 were produced between July and September 2022 and October and November 2022.
“That’s why sanctions are so important, because we see the Russians already using the missiles that have just been shot down. So this means that from one point of view, their stocks are indeed already empty. Therefore, they use missiles that are just being produced,” Honcharenko said. “We need to continue this work to finally close all the loopholes that Russia is trying to use to avoid sanctions.”
CHILDREN TAKE CENTRAL PLACE AT UN NETWORK ON RUSSIA’S WAR IN UKRAINE: “THE WORLD HAS GONE CRAZY”
In this handout photo taken from a video released by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is tested as part of Russian nuclear exercises from the launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia.
(Press service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia via AP)
Because Ukraine is showing an increasing willingness to strike inside The border of RussiaThe Ukrainian government has a comprehensive list of air defense missiles, ranging from the National Advanced Anti-Aircraft Missile System (NASAMS) to munitions and drones.
“If we had the weapons in March that we received in May, then in April we would have finished everything for the benefit of the whole world and, certainly, Ukraine,” Honcharenko said. “Our country would not have been so badly destroyed. Thousands of people would be alive. So it’s not a matter of economics. It’s not a question of money. The question is that we need to win this war as soon as possible.”
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Lacey Christ is a producer for Fox News @ Night. You can follow her on Twitter: @lacey_christ1
