ODESA, UKRAINE — A series of intense Russian drone attacks have caused widespread power outages in Ukraine, hitting critical energy infrastructure and leaving more than 29,000 residents in the southern Odesa region without electricity on Sunday. This latest assault, which Russia’s defence ministry claims was a retaliation for Ukraine’s own drone strikes, marks an intensification of the ongoing conflict’s focus on energy facilities.
Russia’s Interfax news agency, citing the defence ministry, reported that Russian forces shot down 112 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours. In a separate report, the Ukrainian military said Russia had fired a total of 142 drones towards the country overnight, with Ukrainian air defence forces successfully intercepting 126 of them. However, the remaining drones managed to strike 10 locations across Ukraine.
The hardest-hit areas were the Odesa and northern Chernihiv regions. According to Odesa’s governor, Oleh Kiper, a Russian drone attack on port infrastructure, which he said was being used for military purposes, damaged four power facilities. The governor also reported that the port city of Chornomorsk, located near Odesa, suffered significant damage to both residential and administrative buildings, and one person was killed. While the city lost power, Kiper noted that critical infrastructure was being sustained by generators.
The northern Chernihiv region also experienced a major blow to its energy infrastructure on Sunday morning. Local governor Viacheslav Chaus confirmed that the drone strikes left at least 30,000 households without power and also affected parts of the city of Nizhyn.
The reports from both sides have not been independently verified.
Both Russia and Ukraine have escalated their attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks. Russia has been targeting power and gas facilities in Ukraine, while Ukraine has retaliated by striking Russian oil refineries and pipelines. This strategy of targeting critical infrastructure has been a consistent element of the conflict since its onset in February 2022. Ukraine’s largest power company, DTEK, stated that repair work would begin as soon as military and rescue services grant permission to energy workers to inspect the damaged equipment.