Russian airstrikes on Ukraine's power grid on Saturday left over 600,000 people in the Dnipropetrovsk region in southeastern Ukraine without electricity. The DTEK power company announced this news via social media and reported extensive damage to energy infrastructure.
Damage and Reconstruction Efforts
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, condemned the nighttime attacks on the Dnipro region on Sunday morning and reported on the damage to energy infrastructure. He also referred to wider attacks across the country, stating: "There are widespread blackouts across the country, and repair work is underway in almost every affected city and community."
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Olexandr Honchar, the regional governor, said that power company workers are working to restore electricity, but these efforts are hampered by ongoing Russian attacks. He added that hospitals and critical infrastructure are now reliant on emergency generators for power.
Consequences of Attacking Energy Infrastructure
This power outage also followed attacks in the region on November 3, which damaged infrastructure in a key industrial area located near active combat zones. On the same day, wider attacks across Ukraine targeted energy facilities.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant also lost its electricity last night, and the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that the plant is now relying on "emergency diesel generators for cooling the reactor and other essential nuclear safety and security functions."
These attacks come as Kyiv and Moscow prepare for a new round of peace talks under U.S. supervision in Abu Dhabi. Following a new wave of attacks on Saturday night, Zelensky urged international partners to increase sanctions against Russia to limit the country's ability to acquire more missiles.
He stated: "It is very important that these sanctions are synchronized at the European level and within the G7. If the world does not have enough anti-ballistic capabilities to protect Ukraine's skies, then missiles must be halted in production lines."
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