Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to exhaust Ukrainians by “leaving them in the dark and cold this winter,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a high-profile speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
“Since Russia cannot defeat the resistance of our people on the battlefield, Putin is looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit. One of his methods is to attack our energy infrastructure,” Zelensky told world leaders watching his 20-minute speech.
He said Russia had destroyed all of Ukraine’s thermal power plants and “a large part” of the country’s hydroelectric capacity. In total, Russia has damaged 80% of the energy infrastructure.
“This is how Putin prepares for winter: hoping to torment millions of Ukrainians, ordinary families, women, children, ordinary cities, ordinary villages. Putin wants to leave them in the dark and cold this winter, forcing Ukraine to suffer and surrender.”
