Ukraine says power system functioning despite Russian missile attacks

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Ukraine says power system functioning despite Russian missile attacks

On October 27, 2022, workers examine damage as they repair power line equipment after a missile strike on a power plant in an unknown location in Ukraine. SERGEI SUPINSKY AFP KYIV MOSCOW - Ukraine's power system is functioning and remains intact despite Russia's latest missile attacks on the energy facilities, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday.

Energy facilities in the Kyiv region of northern Ukraine, the central Vinnytsya region and the southern Odesa region were hit by missile strikes, Shmyhal said on Telegram.

Ukrainian state-owned energy company Ukrenergo said the situation in Ukraine's energy system is difficult but controllable after the attacks.

Emergency power outages have been introduced in all regions of the country, according to Ukrenergo.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Monday that it shot down more than 60 out of over 70 missiles fired by Russia against Ukraine's critical infrastructure.

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The attack marked the eighth wave of Russian air strikes against Ukraine since October 10.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the situation in Ukraine.

Putin urged a transparent investigation with the participation of Russian specialists into the terrorist act against the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines, the Kremlin said.

On August 30, 2022, pipe systems are seen in the industrial plant of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline, Lubmin, northeastern Germany. ODD ANDERSEN AFP The two leaders also touched upon the implementation of the Black Sea grain export deal signed in Istanbul in July, and Putin stressed the need to remove all obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizers.

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On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that NATO and the United States are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine as they not only provide weapons, but also train military personnel for Kiev in Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.

The West sent hundreds of instructors to Ukraine to teach Ukrainians how to use the supplied weapons, sent a huge number of mercenaries to Ukraine and provided intelligence, Lavrov said. Former relations between Russia and the West won't be restored.

Russia is not prepared to negotiate with the United States if Washington sets the precondition that Russia pulls troops out of Ukraine, but Putin is generally open to contacts, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

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The photo taken on March 10, 2022 shows the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, more than 14.5 million people have fled Ukraine, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said.

Lubinets wrote on Facebook that 11.7 million Ukrainians entered the EU countries and 7.7 million of them received temporary protection there that envisages assistance with work, housing and other aid.

In another development, 50 Ukrainians taken into custody in the conflict were released in the latest prisoner swap, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian President's Office, said on Thursday.

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The prisoners released included soldiers who fought for Mariupol city and the Azovstal steel plant, captives who were held in the Olenivka penal facility, and those wounded in battles in Donetsk, Lugansk, and the Zaporizhzhia directions, according to Yermak.