Russian Attacks Cut Power to Thousands in Northern Ukraine

Russian strikes have knocked out two power installations in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, cutting electricity to roughly 212,000 customers, the regional distributor said.

Chernihivoblenergo reported that an attack on an energy site in Chernihiv district left nearly 150,000 households and businesses in the city of Chernihiv and its environs without power.

The company later said an assault on a separate energy facility in Nizhynskyi district deprived almost another 62,000 consumers across three districts of electricity.

Ukraine’s air force said Russian forces launched 147 drones overnight, and that 121 were intercepted or otherwise neutralised.

Chernihiv suffered severe blackouts over the winter when Russia mounted its largest bombing campaign in four years against Ukraine’s power grid.

An earlier strike had already plunged much of the region into darkness on Saturday.

Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is frequently targeted by Russia

In the neighbouring Kyiv region, about 21,000 residents of Slavutych were temporarily left without electricity after a morning attack, the regional governor said on Telegram.

The governor added that key facilities have been switched to backup generators.

Separately, emergency services said a Russian strike in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region killed one person and wounded another.

They reported the attack struck a private home, igniting a fire and damaging six nearby buildings, and posted photos on Telegram showing firefighters extinguishing flames in a partially destroyed structure.

Meanwhile in Russia, nearly half a million people lost power in the Belgorod region after Ukrainian strikes damaged energy infrastructure, the regional head said.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said outages affected about 450,000 people across several districts, including Belgorod city, and left many without heating and water.

Night-time temperatures in Belgorod over the coming days are forecast to hover around zero degrees Celsius.

Mr Gladkov said repair teams are already at work but warned restorations will take several days.

Belgorod, roughly 40km from the Ukrainian border, has repeatedly been hit by Ukrainian drone and missile strikes.