Ukrainian strikes cut power to key Russian-held areas, officials say

Ukrainian strikes have triggered widespread power outages across Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, cutting electricity to hundreds of thousands, according to Russia-installed officials, who said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains unaffected.

Ukrainian strikes have caused widespread power outages across Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity, Russia-installed officials reported on Tuesday.

The officials said operations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant—the largest in Europe—were unaffected. The plant, which has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the 2022 invasion, remains shut down and is not currently generating electricity. Radiation levels at the facility remain within normal limits, according to Russian officials managing the site.

Russia-appointed governors in both regions, which Moscow insists Ukraine must cede as part of any peace agreement, said emergency measures were underway to protect critical power supplies. In Zaporizhzhia, Governor Yevgeny Balitsky reported that shelling damaged high-voltage infrastructure in the northwest, cutting power to over 600,000 residents across nearly 500 settlements.

In neighboring Kherson, Governor Vladimir Saldo said drone debris struck two substations, leaving more than 100,000 people in 150 towns and villages without electricity. Emergency crews have been deployed to restore power, he added.

The outages followed a fresh round of peace talks in Turkey, where Russia reiterated its demand that Ukraine relinquish further territory and accept military limitations in exchange for ending the war.

Ukraine has not commented on the reported attacks. Both sides routinely deny targeting civilians, though the conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of non-combatants—most of them Ukrainian.

Throughout the war, both sides have accused each other of endangering the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, raising fears of a potential nuclear incident. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a permanent monitoring presence at the plant and other Ukrainian nuclear sites, said last week it had seen no indication Russia planned to restart the facility or link it to its own power grid.

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