Russia’s overnight strikes cripple Ukraine’s energy grid

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine’s two largest energy companies said on Saturday that Russian forces’ overnight missile and drone strikes caused a complete halt in thermal power generation across the country.

In statements on Telegram and Facebook, DTEK and Centerenergo reported severe damage to their facilities, describing the scale of destruction as “unprecedented.”

Centerenergo confirmed that all of its thermal power plants stopped operating after simultaneous strikes on multiple sites, saying: “We have stopped. Now there is zero generation. Zero! We have lost what we were restoring around the clock. Completely.”

DTEK said its thermal power plant sustained “serious damage” in the bombardment, marking the 211th attack on its energy assets since the start of the war with Russia. Repair work is underway to restore operations.

The country's state-run Ukrinform news agency reported that several large energy facilities in the Poltava, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions were also hit, with widespread outages continuing through the day.