Hundreds of thousands of people in Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine were left without electricity on Sunday, according to Kremlin-installed authorities. More than 200,000 households in the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region had no power, the Kremlin-installed local governor said.
In a Telegram post, Yevgeny Balitsky said nearly 400 settlements had their supply cut because power networks were damaged in Ukrainian drone strikes.
Ukraine reports continued Russian strikes on energy infrastructure
Ukrainian officials said Russia continued overnight attacks that targeted the country’s energy grid and killed at least two people. Ukraine’s Emergency Service said Russia struck energy infrastructure in the Odesa region, sparking a fire that was extinguished.
The emergency service said at least six people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region in Russian attacks.
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Zelenskyy cites nationwide damage and weekly strike totals
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said restoring the country’s energy system remains difficult, but authorities are working to restore services as quickly as possible. He said overnight attacks struck Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa.
Zelenskyy also said Russia used more than 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bomb,s and 29 missiles of various types to strike Ukraine this week. He warned that if Russia delays diplomacy, the global response should include increased support for Ukraine and more pressure on Moscow.
Diplomacy talks in the U.S., with Davos mentioned as a next step
Zelenskyy spoke a day after a Ukrainian delegation arrived in the United States for talks tied to a U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year war. He said the delegation would try to finalize documents related to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery.
If U.S. officials approve the proposals, Zelenskyy said the U.S. and Ukraine could sign the documents next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where organizers have said Donald Trump plans to attend. He said Russia would still need to be consulted on the proposals.
Drone fallout reported in Russia and occupied Crimea
In Russia’s Caucasus mountains, two children and an adult were wounded overnight when debris from a Ukrainian drone fell on a five-story residential building in the town of Beslan, according to the regional governor. Seventy people were evacuated, and the building’s roof and windows were damaged, Gov. Sergei Menyaylo said in a Telegram post.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down or suppressed 63 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea. Local authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region said one person was hospitalized after a drone strike east of Crimea.
Sources:
ABC News – “Hundreds of thousands without power in Ukraine after Russian strikes, Zelenskyy says”
