Ukrainians suffer in cold and darkness as president implores UN to punish Russia

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations Security Council to take action against Russia for air strikes on civilian infrastructure which again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness as winter sets in.

On Wednesday, Russia launched a missile barrage through Ukraine, killing 10 people and causing shutdowns of nuke power plants. This also cut water and electricity supply to many areas.

"Today is only one day, but 70 missiles have been delivered to us. This is the Russian formula for terror. All this is against our energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy stated via video link that all affected were hospitals, schools, transport and residential areas.

He said that Ukraine was still waiting for a "very firm reaction" from the rest of the world to Wednesday's air strike.

Because Russia is a member of the council with veto power, it is unlikely that they will take any action to respond to the appeal.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "clearly using winter to inflict immense pain on the Ukrainian people".

She said that the Russian president would "try to freeze the country into submission".

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Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's U.N. ambassador, responded by complaining that Zelenskiy could not appear via video in accordance with council rules. He also rejected the "reckless threats to and ultimatums" made by Ukraine and its supporters.

Nebenzya stated that missiles from Ukrainian air defense systems crashed into civilian areas following being fired at Russian missiles.

On Wednesday, missile strikes hit the capital of Kyiv. "Today, we had three hits against high-rise apartment blocks," said  Denys Monastyrsky, interior minister. He added that 10 people were killed.

Explosions were heard throughout Kyiv, as Russian missiles struck and Ukrainian air defense rockets were fired to try to intercept them.

"Our little one was asleep. She was two years old. She was asleep, so she was covered. "She is alive, thank be to God," declared Fyodr, who walked away from the smoldering apartment block that had been hit in Kyiv, carrying a suitcase.

The governor of Kyiv said that all of Kyiv, home to more than 3 million people, lost power and water. Many other parts of Ukraine were affected by similar problems. Some regions used emergency blackouts in order to conserve energy and repair damage.

Zelenskiy stated that power and other services were being restored in more locations early Thursday. In a video address, Zelenskiy stated that energy specialists, municipal workers and emergency crews were working round the clock.

Russia has admitted that it has been targeting Ukraine's civilian energy grid, far away from the frontlines. In response, a Ukrainian counter-offensive seized territory from Russian occupiers to the east and south.

Moscow claims that the missile strikes were designed to undermine Ukraine's ability and force it to negotiate. Kyiv claims that the missile strikes on infrastructure were war crimes. They are meant to cause civilian deaths and break the will of the nation.

In a video address that Zelenskiy posted to Telegram, Zelenskiy promised that this would not happen.

He said, "We'll renew all and get through it because we are unbreakable people."

FIGHTING IS ON

Ground battles are continuing to rage in eastern Russia, where Russia is pushing an offensive along a stretch west of Donetsk that has been held by its proxy since 2014.

According to the general staff of Ukraine, Russian forces attempted to advance on Donetsk's main targets - Bakhmut (and Avdiivka) - again. According to the general staff, Russian forces used incendiary weapons and shelled both areas to set Ukrainian positions on fire. However, this was not a successful operation.

A unit of Chechen fighters is fighting the Russians at Bakhmut. They hope that a Ukrainian victory will cause political turmoil in Russia and bring down the pro-Moscow leader in Chechnya.

"We are not fighting for the sake or fighting. "We want freedom and independence for our countries," stated a nom-de-guerre Maga fighter.

Further south, Russian forces were advancing on the Dnipro River's eastern bank, according to the general staff. They also shelled areas on its west bank, including the town Kherson. This was recently reclaimed and reclaimed by Ukrainian forces.

Moscow claims it is conducting a "special military operations" to protect Russian speakers living in an artificial state created apart from Russia.

Western responses include billions of dollars in financial aid, state-of the-art military hardware for Kyiv, and waves of punitive and punitive sanctions against Russia.

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