Russian-occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions hit by widespread power outages after Ukrainian attacks

Rescue workers extinguished a fire in a building in Zaporizhzhia that was destroyed during a Russian attack. Source: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/dpa

Ukrainian attacks have paralyzed parts of the power grid in the Russian-occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin acknowledged problems but said the situation was not critical.

Widespread Power Outages in Occupied Territories

In the Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine, Moscow-installed authorities reported power outages.

• Kherson region: "All districts of the Kherson region are fully or partially without power," wrote Vladimir Saldo, head of the local Russian occupation administration, on Telegram. He added that energy suppliers and emergency services are working to restore power to households as quickly as possible.
• Zaporizhzhia region: Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor, wrote overnight of emergency shutdowns and damage to energy facilities following Ukrainian attacks on the power grid.

Putin Acknowledges Infrastructure Problems

In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a Kremlin-aligned correspondent for state television, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged problems the previous evening.

"It is obvious that attacks on critical infrastructure in general, and on energy infrastructure in particular, cause problems," Putin said. "They are observing a certain shortage, but not a critical one."

Expanded Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Energy

Ukraine has significantly expanded its attacks in recent months, targeting primarily Russia's oil industry. This has led to fuel supply problems—initially on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, occupied since 2014, but now also across a large part of Russian regions.

— dpa/krott