Putin beordrar styrkor att gå in i Ukraina - INVASION NU (2022-02-24)

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had shot down a total of 144 Ukrainian drones overnight, 20 of which were intercepted over the Moscow region.

Russia has exhausted Soviet energy reserves and the Russian energy industry lacks funding - Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov told TASS in an interview.

Tsivilyov is the former governor of Russia's Kemerovo region. He is married to Putin's great-niece Anna Tsivilyova (she was recently appointed deputy defense minister by Putin).

The day before, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Putin also spoke about the lack of energy in the Far East. Because of this, Putin said, construction of infrastructure and industrial projects is delayed.

In the summer, against the backdrop of the shutdown of a power unit at the Rostov nuclear power plant, which left two and a half million people without light, Putin said that cryptocurrency miners pose a threat to Russia's energy security. After that, the State Duma approved the law on mining, which, among other things, gives regional authorities the ability to impose a territorial ban on cryptocurrency mining.

Meanwhile, Russia continues spending billions on destroying Ukrainian energy infrastructure.