KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine imposed emergency power cuts across most of the country on Sunday, a day after Russia unleashed widespread attacks on energy infrastructure and claimed it had made gains in the eastern province of Donetsk.
The shutdowns took place in all but three regions of Ukraine following Saturday’s drone and missile attack on energy targets that injured at least 19 people.
Ukrainian electricity grid operator Ukrenergo said the closures affected both industrial and domestic consumers.
Sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in recent weeks have forced the government to impose nationwide blackouts. However, without adequate air defenses to counter attacks and allow for repairs, shortages could worsen as needs increase in late summer and the bitterly cold winter.
Major recent strikes included a barrage in April that damaged Kiev’s largest thermal power plant, and a massive attack on May 8 that targeted electricity generation and transmission facilities in several regions.
After Saturday’s barrage, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that air defenses had shot down all 25 drones launched overnight.
Russia claimed on Sunday that it had taken control of the village of Umanske in the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
Russia’s coordinated new offensive focused on the northeastern Kharkov region but also appears to include testing Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk further south, while also launching raids in the northern Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
In Russia, six people were injured in shelling in the town of Shebekino in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday. He also said that a local official, the deputy head of the Korochansky district, had been killed by “exploding ammunition.” He did not provide details.
In the neighboring Kursk region, three people were injured on Sunday when an explosive device was dropped from a drone, acting regional head Alexey Smirnov said.
Speaking at Asia’s top security conference in Singapore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday accused China of helping Russia disrupt an upcoming Swiss-hosted peace conference on the war in Ukraine.
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