Emergency shutdowns were implemented in all but three regions of Ukraine following a drone and missile attack on Saturday that injured at least 19 people.
Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns across most of the country on Sunday, following large-scale Russian attacks on energy infrastructure that injured at least 19 people and saw Russia claim gains in the eastern Donetsk province.
The shutdowns affected all but three regions of Ukraine after Saturday’s drone and missile assault on energy targets. Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, said the power cuts impacted both industrial and household consumers.
Sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in recent weeks have forced the government to implement nationwide rolling blackouts. The shortages could worsen as demand peaks in late summer and the cold winter if air defenses remain insufficient to counter assaults and allow for repairs. After Saturday’s barrage, Ukraine’s air force reported Sunday that air defenses had shot down all 25 drones launched overnight.
Russia claimed Sunday that it had taken control of the village of Umanske in the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
Russia’s new offensive has focused on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region but also appears to be testing Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk and launching incursions in the northern Sumy and Chernihiv regions. In Russia, six people were injured in shelling in Shebekino in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov. He also reported that a local official had been killed by “detonation of ammunition.”
In the neighboring Kursk region, three people were injured Sunday when an explosive device was dropped from a drone, acting regional head Alexey Smirnov said.
Speaking at a security conference in Singapore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday accused China of helping Russia disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine.