Ukraine strikes disrupt power to two Russian cities
Ukrainian attacks disrupted electricity and heating in two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, local Russian officials said.
Russia and Ukraine have been attacking each other’s energy infrastructures on an almost daily basis as US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have stalled.
On the other hand, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of deliberately endangering nuclear security, saying that a mass drone and missile attack on Friday hit substations that provide power to two nuclear power plants.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Russia intends to fulfill its obligations under the global nuclear testing ban, despite President Vladimir Putin’s recent order to explore the possibility of resuming atomic tests.
Regional governor Alexander Gusev said the drone attack caused temporary power outages and heating was cut off in some parts of Voronezh.
He said multiple drones were electronically blocked overnight over the city, which is home to over a million people, causing a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.
Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram said the attack targeted a local thermal power plant.
A missile attack late on Saturday also caused “serious damage” to the electricity and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod, affecting 20,000 households, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported the next morning.
Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday that its forces destroyed or intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones flying over southwestern Russia’s Bryansk and Rostov regions overnight.
The statement did not mention the Voronezh or Belgorod provinces, nor did it state how many unmanned aerial vehicles Ukraine had launched.
Local authorities in the Rostov region on Sunday reported hours-long power outages in the city of Taganrog, home to about 240,000 people, blaming them for an emergency power line shutdown.
The cause of the fire was not specified, although local media reported that a nearby substation caught fire.
Ukraine’s months-long long-range drone attacks on refineries were aimed at depriving Russia of the oil export revenue it needed to continue the war.
Ukraine and its allies, meanwhile, say Russia is trying to cripple Ukraine’s power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for the fourth consecutive year; This amounts to, in the words of Ukrainian officials, “weaponizing” the bitter cold.
Russia’s mass drone and missile attacks on Friday hit electricity substations feeding Ukraine’s two nuclear power plants, Foreign Minister Sybiha said.
“Russia once again targeted the substations that provide power to the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants,” Sybiha told X. he said.
“These were not accidental, but well-planned attacks. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear security in Europe.”
Sybiha called an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of directors to respond to the risks posed by the attacks.
Ukrainian people continue to be affected especially by electricity, heating and hot water outages.
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he was ready to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the war in Ukraine and the restoration of bilateral relations.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication,” Lavrov told Russia’s Ria state agency, weeks after efforts to hold a summit between Russian and US leaders were shelved.
Lavrov reiterated on Sunday that peace cannot be achieved “without taking into account Russia’s interests.”
with DPA
