Local Telegram
More than 100,000 Ukrainian households have been left without electricity following the latest wave of Russian drone strikes on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Zelensky said the strikes had disrupted power supplies across the Poltava, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions. Ukraine’s energy ministry described the attack as part of Moscow’s ongoing strategy to cripple essential services and weaken morale ahead of winter.
The ministry warned that Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure since launching its full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Last winter, Ukraine reported that half of its electricity-generating capacity had been destroyed.
The latest barrage follows a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities in recent weeks, including refineries and an oil storage depot, underscoring the widening energy war between the two countries.
According to Zelensky, Russia launched close to 100 drones overnight, with energy installations the primary target. However, other civilian structures were also hit, including a school in the Kharkiv region and a high-rise residential block in Kherson.
“New steps are needed to increase pressure on Russia, to stop these strikes and ensure real security,” Zelensky wrote. “We are working with partners to build this pressure.”
Despite repeated Western sanctions and aid packages for Kyiv, the fighting remains relentless. Nearly three and a half years into the conflict, Russian assaults on Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure continue with little sign of easing.
On the ground, Moscow is also pressing forward with territorial gains. On Tuesday, a senior Ukrainian military official confirmed that Russian forces had managed to cross into the Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time since the start of the war. The official stressed, however, that the attempted advance had been halted and that Russian troops were pushed back.
Unlike Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk has not been formally claimed by Moscow, making the attempted incursion a notable development.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Wednesday that its troops had seized control of a village in Donetsk, one of the regions Moscow has declared annexed. While Russian forces have endured significant casualties, they have nevertheless made incremental advances across parts of the eastern front.
The ongoing strikes and ground battles highlight the grinding nature of the war, with no breakthrough in sight for either side. Ukraine insists that Western allies must intensify both sanctions and military support to blunt Russia’s offensives and shield civilians from further attacks.
