Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russia is using cold as a “weapon of genocide”

Kyiv:

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia is trying to use this winter as a “weapon of mass destruction” by attacking energy infrastructure.

“The Kremlin wants to turn this winter into a weapon of mass destruction,” Zelensky told a meeting of French mayors in a video message.

“We need a lot of things to survive this winter and prevent Russia from turning the cold into an instrument of terror and capitulation,” he said.

He urged the French mayors’ association to send support for Ukraine’s emergency services and medical workers with generators, de-mining operations and equipment.

“I call on you to be concrete in your helping hand and to support towns and communities against terrorism,” he said.

The World Health Organization warned on Monday that millions of Ukrainian lives are at risk as the country’s power grid struggles under a barrage of Russian attacks.

Moscow has been deliberately targeting energy infrastructure, with millions of homes across the country without power as temperatures plummet.

“This winter will be about survival,” Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, told reporters on Monday, adding that it would be “life-threatening for millions of people in Ukraine”.

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