Putin: Strikes on Ukraine's energy grid aim to demilitarize the country

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on April 11 that recent airstrikes on Ukraine's power grid, which caused massive blackouts, were part of the "demilitarization" of the neighboring country.
His comments came after Moscow launched a series of airstrikes targeting energy facilities across Ukraine on Thursday.
"We assume that in this way we are influencing the Ukrainian military-industrial complex," Putin said during a meeting in the Kremlin with his Belarusian ally and counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin said the strikes were also in response to Kiev attacking Russia's energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, as the conflict drags into its third year.
"Recently, we witnessed a series of attacks on our energy facilities and we were obliged to respond," Putin said.
The Russian president said that Russia did not strike Ukrainian electrical installations during the winter "for humanitarian reasons".
"We didn't want to deprive the social infrastructures, hospitals, etc. of electricity."
Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the winter of 2022-2023 left millions of people without light and heating for long periods of time, AFP recalls.
Ukraine's power grid was hit less frequently this past winter until Moscow launched a new wave of attacks that began in early March.
On April 11, Russia hit Ukraine's energy facilities with about 40 drone strikes, destroying a power plant in the Kyiv region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his calls for the supply of new air defense systems during a visit to Lithuania./BGNES