This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Ukrainian authorities struggled to resume essential services throughout the country after the latest barrage of Russian strikes on infrastructure sites as both sides prepared for the upcoming winter season, with some troops and materiel bogged down in muddy fields in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Much of the city of Kherson — recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces from Russian occupiers — remained without electrical power on November 27 as authorities worked to get the grid operational again. Officials said only about 5 percent of the population has been reconnected and was receiving electricity.
Meanwhile, in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko — who has come in for criticism from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for being slow to restore services — told the November 27 edition of Germany’s mass-circulation Bild newspaper that work was proceeding at “record pace” in the capital.
Earlier, Serhiy Kovalenko, chief operating officer of YASNO, which provides energy to Kyiv, said the situation in the city had improved but still remained “quite difficult.” He indicated that residents in the capital should have at least four hours of power per day.
Following overnight strikes, shelling by Russian forces continued on November 27 in several areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Officials said both sides appear to be slowed by the rain and muddy conditions but that the approaching colder temperatures could set the stage for renewed action.
The Institute for the Study of War, an influential think tank that has closely monitored Ukraine war developments, said reporting from “critical frontline areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine, including Svatove, Bakhmut, and Vuhledar, indicates that operations on both sides are currently bogged down by heavy rain and resulting heavy mud.”
“Temperatures are forecasted to drop throughout Ukraine over the next week, which will likely freeze the ground and expedite the pace of fighting as mobility increases for both sides,” it said in its update.
“It is unclear if either side is actively planning or preparing to resume major offensive or counteroffensive operations at that time, but the meteorological factors that have been hindering such operations will begin lifting.”
The governor of the Kherson region, Yaroslav Yanushevych, said on November 27 on his Telegram channel that Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian region more than 50 times this weekend. Yanushevych accused Russia of terrorism and of targeting civilians, reporting that one person had died and two had been injured in the shelling.
Much of the city of Kherson remains under difficult conditions, with UN resident coordinator Denise Brown telling AP that civilians continued to leave the area in large numbers.
“The level of destruction, the scope of the destruction, what’s required in the city and in the oblast — it’s massive,” she said, adding that UN teams were bringing in food, water, medicines, blankets, and mattresses to the area.
“Time is of the essence, of course, before it becomes an absolute catastrophe,” Brown was quoted as saying.
In the eastern Donetsk region, five people were killed in shelling over the past day, according to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Overnight shelling was reported by regional officials in the Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk areas to the west.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said one person was killed and three wounded in the northeastern region.
