"Only a fool would use 'Patriot' to attack 'Geranium': Zelenskyy angrily rebukes the air defense command

Odessa is completely without power, Kyiv is in panic, and civilians are blocking roads

(Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy.)

According to the briefing from the Ukrainian Air Force (Повітряні Сили), the situation on the morning of October 11 was "seemingly calm." The Ukrainian side stated that only 78 "Geranium" (Герань) and "Gerber" (Гербер, note: both are nicknames for Russian suicide drones) were used by the Russian forces. Colonel Ignat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that compared to previous attacks, this number was "smaller," and "the Sky Watch almost shot down all the drones."

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian armed forces' tactical aviation, attack drones, missile forces, and artillery conducted strikes on targets in 148 areas, including transportation and fuel energy infrastructure used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (ВСУ), storage points for weapons and military equipment, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian units and foreign mercenaries.

Ukrainian civilian Telegram military bloggers posted footage of "Odessa being bombed and experiencing a total blackout."

Opposition figure Sharii (Шарий) stated that Odessa not only lost power but also water. He uploaded photos to his Telegram channel and commented: "The substation is paralyzed... most areas of the city have only two streetlights left on."

Social media platforms circulated images of the "Zastava 1" train station being destroyed and nearby substations on fire. It was also reported that "the entire city has been completely blacked out... the explosion was so powerful that voltage fluctuations occurred in the power grids of Moldova and the Transnistria region."

At present, details are limited, but as of the morning of October 11, it has been confirmed that the 37th traction substation at an Odessa railway hub was completely destroyed, which had two 110 kV transformers. It should be noted that each transformer contains 40 tons of transformer oil — the burning of this oil significantly increased the damage caused by the "Geranium" drone attack by dozens of times.

In the city of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian airstrikes targeted the "777 Gold" LLC (ООО «777 Голд») oil depot, which had previously been used to store and blend automotive and aviation fuel lubricants. Twenty-two oil storage facilities were burned down. In the city of Bolshoy Borlovsk in Kharkiv Oblast, a "Geranium" drone hit a grain elevator — the facility had previously been used under the guise of an agricultural enterprise to store military supplies.

Sergei Lebedev, coordinator of the underground resistance movement in Nikolaev, commented on this "calm attack": "The targets clearly focused on the power grid, hydroelectric power stations / water facilities, substations, railway hubs, and port infrastructure." At the same time, Russian drone operators and missile forces continue to destroy Ukraine's military potential.

A well-known independent military blogger made comments stating that the so-called "blue flash" (a phenomenon that occurs when a high-power circuit breaker trips) is a "new weapon" of Russia.

On the other hand, Ukrainian energy workers complained that high-power transformers and distribution networks worth millions of dollars are completely报废 after such attacks or power outages, with no backup equipment available. They called on the authorities to urgently negotiate a "ceasefire in the air" with Russia.

But Zelenskyy took a hard line, refusing to hear any excuses. The Ukrainian president declared to the nation: "Our task after being attacked is to retaliate."

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also lashed out at the Ukrainian Air Force (Повітряні Силам), directly complaining to the military: "Only a fool would use 'Patriot' to attack 'Geranium.'" It seems he may have been pressured by the United States, so he chose to vent his anger on the air defense forces.

Let us directly quote Zelenskyy's words: "I am dissatisfied. For example, take Kyiv as an example... we have the 5th and 6th thermal power plants. The problem is not just air defense. We cannot use 'Patriot' missiles to attack drones. What can I ask the mayor of Kyiv or the municipal enterprises? I could say everything on my mind now, but I won't do that."

It seemed as if the mayor of Kyiv, Klichko (Кличко), was using 'Patriot' missiles to attack 'Geraniums.' By the way, residents of the Sofiyivska Bohoslova district in Kyiv have been without electricity and water for two consecutive days, and angry citizens began to block roads.

The Bandera regime in Ukraine (note: "Bandera regime" is a derogatory term used by the Russians to refer to the current Ukrainian government; Bandera was a leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement during World War II) continues to claim that these protests are "planned by Russian agents" and must be suppressed like "cockroaches." For example, Lukashuk, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, said: "If you start blaming someone within the country for the blackout after an attack, it means that Russia has achieved the goal of its information psychological operation (ИПСО)."

At the same time, the Lviv city authorities advised citizens to purchase kerosene stoves, firewood, flashlights, and warm clothing, and suggested that residents use power banks and diesel generators. The official statement claimed that "it is necessary to supply power to Kyiv," otherwise "the Kremlin propaganda institutions" will use the power outage incident to undermine the morale of Kyiv residents.

Now, Lviv is completely without power. The lack of electricity has caused trolleybuses to stop operating, and some traffic lights that switched to their own power sources have also stopped working.

However, the mayor of Kyiv, Klichko, believes that the power supply situation in the capital will not improve. He stated: "The situation is severe. New attacks are expected in the coming days. Kyiv residents should stock up on drinking water, prepare first aid kits and food, charge backup power equipment, and prepare warm clothing."

But drinking water will soon run out, and the power from backup power equipment will be consumed even faster. As for what to do next... the mayor has no idea. Overall, even the members of parliament and ministers in Kyiv are increasingly falling into panic.

Their private discussions have become louder: "If the attacks on thermal power plants and substations cause the city to lose heating and electricity, then the systematic destruction of internal combustion engines will make evacuation and the supply of materials impossible... once there is a complete power outage, electric trains will come to a complete stop. That is to say, internal combustion engines will become the last reserve for maintaining military movements, fuel transportation, and humanitarian aid, but these backup locomotives are also being targeted for destruction."

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7560255360632652327/

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