Russia-Ukraine War: Putin states that power grid strikes were in retaliation to the drone attack in Crimea

Earlier in the day, Putin stated that Russia launched attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and decided to halt participation in a Black Sea grain export programe.  In response to a drone attack on Moscow’s fleet in Crimea, which President Vladimir Putin said was the fault of Ukraine,
Putin claimed at a news conference on Monday that grain ships and Ukrainian drones both had used the same maritime routes.

In contrast Ukraine has denied exploiting the security corridor for the grain program for military purposes, Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the strike. When Russia claimed that its vessels in Crimea were targeted on Saturday, the United Nations reported that no grain ships were using the Black Sea route.

Russian missiles rained down throughout the nation on the 250th day of a conflict that has dragged on since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In Kyiv, explosions could be heard, spewing black smoke into the sky.

According to a post on Facebook from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian forces shelled infrastructure in at least six areas of Ukraine on Monday.

As per sources to the Reuters, Putin said at the broadcasted news conference “That’s not all we could have done,” indicating more action could follow.

According to Ukrainian officials, energy infrastructure, including hydroelectric dams, was hit, cutting off the supply of electricity, heat, and water.

The second-largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, had roughly 50,000 citizens without power following the attacks, according to Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, who posted on Telegram.

Ukraine Military claimed to have destroyed 44 out of 50 Russian missiles. However, according to authorities, strikes left 80% of Kyiv without running water. According to Ukrainian authorities, the most recent attacks injured 13 individuals.
Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian public infrastructure for the past three weeks with high-priced long-range missiles and low-priced “suicide drones” built in Iran.

Denys Shmyhal, the prime minister of Ukraine, reported that missile and drone strikes on 10 different regions of his country on Monday hit 18 objectives, most of which were energy facilities.