Ukraine reports power outages in southeastern regions after drone strikes

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Thursday reported major power outages in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions after overnight drone strikes.

The Energy Ministry said in a statement that Russian strikes targeted energy infrastructure, and the two regions were almost completely without electricity. "Critical infrastructure is operating on backup power,” the statement added.

Acting Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov told a briefing that efforts to restore power began overnight, and about 800,000 consumers continue to remain without electricity in Dnipropetrovsk.

Nekrasov said power supply had been restored in Zaporizhzhia, but settlements in Chernihiv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia were completely or partially without electricity in the morning “due to adverse weather conditions.”

Acting Dnipropetrovsk Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko said the attack in his region resulted in damage to infrastructure in its Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, and Pavlohrad districts.

Meanwhile, Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov described the outage as the first “total blackout for the entire region in recent years.”

In a statement on US social media company X, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was "absolutely no military rationale" in the strikes, reiterating his call for further air defense systems.

"Diplomatic discussions cannot be a pretext for slowing down the supply of air defense systems and equipment that helps protect lives. We are working with our partners to ensure an adequate response," Zelenskyy said.

The air force claimed air defenses shot down 70 out of 97 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Russia has not yet commented on the attack, though its Defense Ministry claimed air defenses downed 77 Ukrainian drones launched between 11 pm Wednesday evening (2000GMT) and 9 am Thursday morning (0600GMT).

It said 22 of the drones were shot down over the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, while 25 others were intercepted over the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.