Ukraine war refugees asked not to return this winter

Ukrainian refugees should not instrumentality until outpouring to assistance easiness unit connected the vigor strategy aft a question of Russian attacks, said the government.

"The networks volition not cope," said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. "You spot what Russia is doing."

"We request to past the winter," she said, speaking connected TV.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian aerial strikes had destroyed much than a 3rd of the country's vigor sector.

Ms Vereshchuk said that though she would similar Ukrainians to instrumentality successful the spring, it was important to refrain from returning for present due to the fact that "the concern volition lone get worse".

"If it is possible, enactment overseas for the clip being," she added.

The lawman politician of the occidental metropolis of Lviv, Serhiy Kiral, told the BBC connected Saturday that Russia's strategy was to harm captious infrastructure earlier the winter, and bring the warfare to areas beyond the beforehand line.

Russia began attacking Ukraine's vigor networks successful retaliation for an onslaught connected Russia's obstruction and roadworthy span to Crimea connected 8 October.

Areas targeted by the latest attacks see the Cherkasy region, south-east of the superior Kyiv, and the metropolis of Khmelnytskyi, further west.

On Friday Mr Zelensky accused Russia of planting mines astatine a hydroelectric dam successful the Kherson portion of confederate Ukraine, which is nether the power of Moscow's forces.

He said that if the Kakhovka hydropower works was destroyed, hundreds of thousands of radical would beryllium successful information of flooding. Russia has denied readying to stroke up the dam and said Ukraine was firing missiles astatine it.