Hundreds of thousands of households in Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine were left without electricity on Sunday after damage to power networks that Kremlin-installed officials attributed to Ukrainian drone strikes. The power cuts came as Russia continued overnight attacks across Ukraine that Ukrainian officials said hit multiple regions and again targeted energy infrastructure.
Kremlin-installed Zaporizhzhia official Yevgeny Balitsky said more than 200,000 households in the Russian-held part of the Zaporizhzhia region lost power, and he said nearly 400 settlements were affected. In a separate figure, Balitsky said the outages hit 213,000 customers and 386 localities in the region.
Officials blame drones for outages
Balitsky said the electricity supply was cut due to damage to power networks from Ukrainian drone strikes. He described it as damage following an “enemy attack” on the region’s energy infrastructure.
In neighboring Kherson region, Moscow-installed official Vladimir Saldo said Saturday evening that a Ukrainian strike hit an electrical substation, causing outages in 14 towns and 450 villages. Saldo later said emergency repair work restored power.
Russia’s attacks hit multiple regions
Ukrainian officials reported deaths and injuries from Russian attacks across the country over the past day, with the Kyiv Independent citing at least five civilians killed and at least 30 injured. Zelenskyy, in remarks reported by the Associated Press, said two people were killed in overnight attacks across the country.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 201 drones overnight, and it reported shooting down 167 of them. The Air Force also reported that 30 drones struck 15 locations and falling debris was recorded at two other sites.
Energy infrastructure targeted amid winter cold
In Odesa region, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said Russia targeted energy infrastructure overnight, and it reported that a fire broke out and was extinguished. Separately, the Kyiv Independent reported that an energy facility in Odesa Oblast was targeted, while noting nighttime temperatures in the region dropped to -10 degrees Celsius.
In Kharkiv Oblast, regional officials said Russian attacks killed three people and injured 11, and they reported damage that included energy facilities in the city of Kharkiv. The Kyiv Independent also reported that nighttime temperatures in Kharkiv fell to -16 degrees Celsius.
In Kherson Oblast, regional officials reported two civilians killed and one injured, and they said a fire damaged four houses, an administrative building, and a car. In Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said at least six people were injured due to Russian attacks.
Zelenskyy: repairs difficult, diplomacy must not stall
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said repair crews are working around the clock to restore electricity after strikes, but he described the situation as “difficult.” He also said repairing Ukraine’s energy system remains challenging and that efforts are focused on restoring services as quickly as possible.
Zelenskyy said Russia used more than 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bombs, and 29 missiles of various types to strike Ukraine over the week. He said that if Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the international response should be “decisive,” including more help for Ukraine and more pressure on what he called the aggressor.
Talks and strikes beyond Ukraine
The Associated Press reported that Zelenskyy spoke a day after a Ukrainian delegation arrived in the United States for talks tied to a U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year war. The same report said Zelenskyy had stated on Friday that the delegation would try to finalize documents with U.S. officials related to a proposed peace settlement covering postwar security guarantees and economic recovery.
In Russia’s North Ossetia, regional governor Sergei Menyaylo said two children and an adult were wounded when debris from a Ukrainian drone fell on a five-story residential building in the town of Beslan, and he said 70 people were evacuated. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down or suppressed 63 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea, while local authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region reported one person hospitalized after a drone strike.
