A thousand Kyiv apartment blocks still without heating after Russian strike

KYIV, Jan 11 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are still without heating following a devastating Russian attack earlier this week, local authorities said on Sunday.

Russia has intensified bombardments of Ukraine's energy system since it invaded its neighbour in 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched 1,100 drones, more than 890 guided aerial bombs and over 50 missiles, including ballistic, cruise and medium-range weapons, against Ukraine over the past week.

On Friday, a missile strike on Kyiv left virtually the entire city without power and heating amid a sharp cold snap, and it was not until Sunday that authorities restored water supplies and partially restored electricity and heating.

GRID SUFFERING FROM ACCUMULATED DAMAGE

Zelenskiy said Russia deliberately waited for freezing weather to make things worse for the Ukrainian people, and this was "a cynical Russian terror specifically against civilians". Moscow made no immediate response.

The war's fourth winter could be the coldest and darkest yet, with the accumulated damage to the grid bringing utilities to the brink and temperatures, already below minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 F), set to plunge to minus 20 degrees (-4 F) later this week.

"Restoration work is ongoing. However, the energy supply situation in the capital remains very difficult," Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Telegram.

"According to forecasts, the severe frosts are not expected to subside in the coming days. Therefore, the difficult situation in the capital will continue," he added.

NOT ONE DAY WITHOUT ATTACKS THIS WEEK

Ukraine's energy ministry said Russian forces had attacked the country's power system again during the night, briefly cutting off electricity to the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

"Not a single day passed this week without attacks on energy facilities and critical infrastructure. A total of 44 attacks were recorded," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram.

Svyrydenko said the restoration of heat and electricity supplies was proceeding at a record pace, noting significant improvements in Kyiv would require time but could be reached by Thursday.