Russia has attacked targets in eight Ukrainian regions, knocking out power supplies in Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv. Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo said power outages impacted six regions.
The attack comes as Russian and Ukrainian delegations held their first U.S.-brokered three-way talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, since February.
Putin in 2024 Image Credit: Russian Federation
Putin Back in July of 2024. Russian Government Photo
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said Russian forces attacked five large substations used for transferring power between regions in the Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia and Kirovohrad regions. He added that two people died in the attack on the city of Ladyzhyn in the Vinnytsia region.
The Ukrainian Air Force said its airspace had been attacked by 162 drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile. Air defense systems intercepted 135 drones by 7:30 a.m. local time.
The Air Force reported that Russian weapons struck 19 locations, while debris from intercepted drones fell at nine others.
Power Disruptions in Dnipropetrovsk
More than 600,000 residents in Dnipropetrovsk were hit by power outages after attacks on November 8. Regional authorities said power was cut to five districts, and hospitals and other critical infrastructure were moving to backup generators.
DTEK–Ukraine’s largest private energy firm–said that its operations were being “complicated by repeated attacks.”
But by Sunday evening power was being restored to households. Mayor Borys Filatov said water was restored throughout the left bank of the city and around 80 percent on the right. “The situation with heating is more difficult, but it is also gradually being brought back online,” he explained on Sunday.
DTEK said on Monday morning that stable power supplies had been restored to most of the region after the renewed attacks.
However, emergency power outages continued in Pavlohrad, and some areas of the Samar and Synelnykove districts.
Another attack damaged energy infrastructure. “Enemy attacks have left parts of Dnipro and Kamianske without electricity,” regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
He added that residents could charge their devices and access the internet at emergency centers. “There are stocks of drinking water,” he continued.
Kharkiv Faces Further Outages
In a separate incident on Sunday, a Russian drone hit critical infrastructure in the Kharkiv region. “Nearly 250,000 customers in the Kharkiv region were left without power,” said Mykola Baksheyev, mayor of Zlatopil.
He added that critical infrastructure was hit by the power cuts. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Baksheyev initially admitted that “the exact time for restoring power supply is still unknown.” But by around 9 a.m. local time, crews had restored power, Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, said. However, Ukrenergo said there were new power cuts in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
Damage To Grid Causes Emergency Cuts
“Key substations, district heating plants, and oil and gas infrastructure are under attack,” Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.
Damage to equipment caused emergency power cuts in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Sumy regions. Constant air raid alarms made repairs to the high-voltage substations difficult.
Ukrenergo added that industrial power restrictions and rolling blackouts would have to continue in certain regions.
Iron ore producer Ferrexpo temporarily stopped production in Ukraine due to unstable power supplies following more substation and transmission line attacks.
However, it said on Tuesday that it can continue supplying European customers from its stockpiles.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces would “continue to carry out strikes against Ukrainian fuel and energy infrastructure facilities.” Moscow also claimed that its forces hit two substations in Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions, which supply power to Ukraine’s defense industry.
Energy Truce on the Agenda
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of intensifying attacks on Saturday in an attempt to put pressure on Ukraine and its partners ahead of the talks.
He said on Monday that Moscow was trying to “divide Ukraine along the Dnipro River and make life as difficult as possible for people.”
Stopping attacks on energy infrastructure and other critical infrastructure was on the agenda of the two-day talks, Interfax-Ukraine said. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s delegation, said Tuesday that Ukraine’s delegation was focused on “ending the fighting, securing reliable postwar security guarantees,” as well as economic recovery and humanitarian measures.
U.S. Envoy Jared Kushner said recent contact had meant “really identified, narrowed the gaps.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that security issues for Russia, Ukraine and the region as a whole would be a priority in talks.
Moscow wants control over Ukraine’s entire Donbas region, including heavily fortified and highly populated areas Russia has not been able to militarily occupy.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
