International Desk: Ukrainian refugees should not return this winter due to blackouts created by Moscow’s bombardment of critical energy infrastructure, a Ukrainian minister said.

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In an interview, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukrainians currently sheltering abroad that they should wait until spring before returning to Ukraine.

"We need to survive the winter," she added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told that Russian air strikes had destroyed more than a third of the country's energy sector.

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Ms Vereshchuk said that although she would like Ukrainians to return in the spring, it was important to refrain from returning for now because "the situation will only get worse".

Ukraine's economy has suffered badly since the war began. Mr Zelensky has called on the world for help urgently to cover an expected budget deficit of $38bn (£33bn) next year.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Ukraine would need $3bn every month to survive the next year - and $5bn if Moscow's bombardment intensified.

Russia says it began attacking Ukraine's energy networks in retaliation for an attack on a bridge linking mainland Russia to occupied Crimea, although Kyiv has not said it was behind the bridge attack.

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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, the UN's refugee agency has recorded about 7.7 million refugees from Ukraine across Europe, including Russia, out of a population of about 44 million.

Sun News/MR

Ukrainian refugees blackouts bombardment Minister spring

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