As of 2 p.m. local time on Saturday, power outages caused by the Russian bombardment affected a total of 1,451,603 people throughout Ukraine, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported, citing state officials.
Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Volyn
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Telegram that as a result of the the latest Russian missile strikes, as of 2 p.m. electricity was cut off for: 672,000 people in the western Khmelnytskyi region; 188,400 people in the southern Mykolaiv province; 102,000 people in the western Volyn region; 242,000 people in the central Cherkasy province; 174,790 people in the western Rivne region; 61,913 people the central in Kirovohrad province; and 10,500 people in the southern Odesa region, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
Tymoshenko confirmed earlier reports that a total of 18 missiles had been shot down by Ukraine’s air defence forces, the website added.
Addressing the people of Ukraine, the presidential official stressed: "Electricity specialists immediately start maintenance works on the affected areas. There will be light!”
“Don't forget about saving electricity!," Tymoshenko urged, as cited by Ukrainska Pravda.
Ukrainian FM urges West to strengthen Ukraines' air defences
In the wake of Saturday's strikes, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Western countries to provide his country with air defence systems, without "a minute of delay."
Ukraine's top diplomat said in a tweet: "Saturday in Ukraine starts with a barrage of Russian missiles aimed at critical civilian infrastructure. We have intercepted some of them, others hit targets."
He urged: "Air defence saves lives. There should not be a minute of delay in the capitals deciding on air defence systems for Ukraine."
Russian-installed authorities urge residents to leave Kherson City
In other developments, Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson on Saturday called on civilians to leave the area "immediately" because of what they called “the tense military situation,” as Ukraine's forces advance on the city, the Reuters news agency reported.
"Due to the tense situation at the front, the increased danger of massive shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the left (east) bank of the Dnipro!" said a statement posted on Telegram, as cited by Reuters.
It comes as Ukrainian forces press on along the west bank of the Dnipro river, aiming to liberate Kherson City after recent successes in recapturing parts of the Kherson region, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Kherson City is the only regional capital that the Kremlin forces have captured since invading Ukraine on February 24.
The surrounding Kherson region, meanwhile, was one of four Ukrainian provinces that Russian President Vladimir Putin last month declared as part of Russia, the Reuters news agency reported.
Putin warned he was prepared to deploy nuclear weapons if necessary to defend what Russia regarded as its own territory; his stated “annexation” of Ukrainian regions was condemned as illegal by Ukraine, its allies including Poland, and the United Nations General Assembly, news outlets reported.
Saturday is day 241 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: pravda.com.ua, Reuters, bbc.com