Ukraine Says Putin's Forces Resorting To 'Coward Response' With Attacks On Power Stations, Water Facilities

Ukraine accused Vladimir Putin's forces of attacking water facilities and a thermal power station in Kharkiv after Ukrainian troops forced Russia to abandon its main bastion in the region as part of a counteroffensive over the weekend.

What Happened: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia attacked civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, causing mass blackouts in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions and partial blackouts in the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy regions.

See Also: Setback For Russia: Putin Forces Crumble As Ukraine Retakes Territory In Kharkiv Region

"No military facilities, the goal is to deprive people of light & heat," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter late on Sunday.

A total blackout in the Kharkiv & Donetsk regions, a partial one in the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk & Sumy regions. RF terrorists remain terrorists & attack critical infrastructure. No military facilities, the goal is to deprive people of light & heat. #RussiaIsATerroristState

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 11, 2022

Zelenskyy's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Kharkiv’s CHPP-5 electricity station — one of the largest in Ukraine — had been hit. "A coward 'response' for the escape of its own army from the battlefield," he said on Twitter.

Deliberate strikes on critical civilian infrastructure (in particular, on the largest Kharkiv CHPP-5) — a manifestation of RF's terrorism and desire to massively leave civilians without electricity and heat. A coward "response" for the escape of its own army from the battlefield.

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) September 11, 2022

Meanwhile, the U.S. representative to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, denouncing the strikes, said, "Russia's apparent response to Ukraine liberating cities and villages in the east: sending missiles to attempt to destroy critical civilian infrastructure."

Russia’s apparent response to Ukraine liberating cities and villages in the east: sending missiles to attempt to destroy critical civilian infrastructure.

— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) September 11, 2022

This came after Ukraine announced that in a significant setback for the Kremlin, the Ukrainian military liberated territories in the Kharkiv region in the east and Kherson in the south. The president of the war-torn nation described the gains as a potential breakthrough in the six-month-old war and said it could see further territorial gains if the West supplies more powerful weapons.

See Also: Putin Allies Reportedly Admit To Making 'Mistakes' And Are 'Worried' In Light Of Ukrainian Military Gains