Russian strikes leave hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without power

Ukraine is bracing for a particularly harsh winter as Russia intensifies its daily aerial bombardments, deploying drones and missiles against the country’s electrical grid.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, “more than 600,000 residents were left without electricity,” DTEK announced on Telegram, following “nocturnal attacks that damaged significant energy facilities.”

The company stated that restoration efforts have been “complicated by repeated attacks.”

In the Kharkiv region, a Russian drone struck “a critical facility,” according to Zlatopil Mayor Mykola Baksheyev, who shared the information on social media. Approximately 250,000 residents in the Kharkiv region lost power.

Repair work is currently underway.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the overnight strikes caused “widespread power outages across the country.” He added that in the Jytomyr region alone, 140 residential buildings lost heating following a Russian strike, as temperatures in Ukraine neared freezing.

Zelensky also reported that Russia launched a drone on Komychouvakha, a village in the Zaporijjia region, where Moscow previously struck an aid distribution center in one of the war’s deadliest attacks. The death toll from that attack has risen to 55, Zelensky said, an increase from a previous count of 50.

“This morning, the Russians attacked Komychouvakha with an FPV drone, while emergency rescue operations have been underway for seven days… Unfortunately, it is possible that other people are still under the rubble,” Zelensky stated.

Energy infrastructure in five Ukrainian regions, including Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv, was previously targeted in massive Russian strikes Friday night into Saturday, resulting in power outages.

President Zelensky denounced the attacks as a form of “pressure” employed by Moscow ahead of expected trilateral negotiations next week.