Russia Uses Drones to Disrupt Power in Ukraine’s Odesa

A general view shows a fire engine at a scene of a burning building after a strike in a location given as Odesa, Ukraine in this picture obtained from social media released on July 19, 2022. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS)/Handout via Reuters)

The Ukrainian port of Odesa was hit by Russian drone attacks that damaged all non-critical infrastructure in the region, leaving 1.5 million people without any power.

According to Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office, two power facilities in Odesa were targeted by Russia using the Iran-made Shahed-136 drones. In the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, Russia launched 15 drones against targets, of which 10 were shot down, claimed Ukraine’s armed forces on Saturday. Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for Odesa’s regional administration, said that electricity for Odesa’s population will be restored in the “coming days,” but warned that a complete network restoration can take two to three months, according to Reuters.

“The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address. “Unfortunately, the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore electricity ... It doesn’t take hours, but a few days, unfortunately.”

Earlier, a Facebook post by Odesa’s administration asked people to consider evacuating. According to Bratchuk, “not a single representative” of authorities in the region has made such a call and the matter is under investigation by security services. The post is assumed to be part of a “hybrid war” by Russia.

Meanwhile, in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, the mayor has warned of an “apocalypse” scenario if Russia continues its air strike on infrastructure.

“Kyiv might lose power, water, and heat supply. The apocalypse might happen, like in Hollywood films, when it’s not possible to live in homes considering the low temperature,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an interview with Reuters. Although there is no need to evacuate at present, people should prepare to do so, he added.

Russian Invasion

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently warned that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine could break into a full-blown “major war” between Russia and the West.

In an interview with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, Stoltenberg expressed worries that the war in Ukraine will “get out of control” and that things could “go horribly wrong.”

However, Stoltenberg is “confident” that a major war between NATO and Russia could be avoided, pointing to NATO’s military buildup in Central Europe.

As to the possibility of peace, the NATO Secretary General said that conversations are useless “at some point” and that Putin has already decided to use “force and power.” Ukraine can only be helped militarily, he said.

While speaking at an event near Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also highlighted Putin’s desire for war, according to euronews.

“Whenever I speak with Putin he says very clearly that for him it is about conquering something,” Scholz said. “He simply wants to conquer part of Ukrainian territory with violence.”