Over 200,000 households in Russian-held Zaporizhzhia lose power after drone strikes, officials say
Kremlin-appointed authorities report outages in more than 200,000 homes after damage to power networks. Kyiv says Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least two people.
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By Torontoer Staff
More than 200,000 households in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region were left without electricity on Sunday after damage to power networks, the Kremlin-appointed local governor said. Yevgeny Balitsky blamed Ukrainian drone strikes for the outages, saying supply was cut in nearly 400 settlements.
At the same time, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces continued waves of attacks on energy infrastructure across the country overnight, killing at least two people and injuring several others. Kyiv has accused Moscow of seeking to weaken morale during winter by targeting the power grid.
Outages and damage in Zaporizhzhia
Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed governor, posted on Telegram that nearly 400 settlements in the Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia had been cut off after damage to regional power lines. Local emergency response teams were engaged in repairs, but access and safety issues slowed restoration work in the occupied areas.
Nearly 400 settlements have had their supply cut due to damage to power networks from Ukrainian drone strikes.
Yevgeny Balitsky, Kremlin-appointed governor
Continued Russian strikes across Ukraine
Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported that Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure in the Odesa region overnight, causing a fire that was extinguished. Authorities also reported multiple attacks elsewhere, with at least six people injured in Dnipropetrovsk region and two civilians killed across several regions, including Sumy and Kharkiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said repairing the energy system remains difficult, but pledged that Kyiv is doing everything possible to restore services quickly. He said Russian attacks this week involved large numbers of weapons, and called for increased international support if diplomatic efforts stall.
If Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the world’s response should be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor.
President Volodymyr Zelensky
Scale of strikes and diplomatic context
Zelensky said Russia used more than 1,300 attack drones, about 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types during the week. The comments came as a Ukrainian delegation arrived in Washington for talks tied to a U.S.-led diplomatic push aimed at ending the nearly four-year conflict.
Kyiv officials said the delegation is seeking to finalise documents on postwar security guarantees and economic recovery. Zelensky said U.S. officials could approve the proposals ahead of a planned signing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, if Russia agrees to consult on the terms.
Incidents inside Russia and occupied Crimea
Russian regional authorities reported separate incidents inside Russian territory. In North Ossetia, debris from a Ukrainian drone struck a residential building in the town of Beslan, wounding two children and an adult. Seventy people were evacuated after damage to the five-storey block, according to the regional governor.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces shot down or suppressed 63 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea. Local officials in the Krasnodar region reported one person hospitalised after a drone strike east of Crimea.
Human impact and repair efforts
Loss of power in winter raises immediate humanitarian concerns, including heating, water pumping and hospital operations. Repair crews face hazards from ongoing strikes, damaged infrastructure and contested access in front-line and occupied areas.
- Over 200,000 households without power in occupied Zaporizhzhia, according to Kremlin-appointed authorities
- Nearly 400 settlements reportedly affected by damage to power networks
- At least two people killed and several injured across Ukraine in overnight strikes, according to Kyiv
- Ukraine reports more than 1,300 attack drones and other munitions used by Russia this week
Officials on both sides continue to exchange claims about responsibility for specific incidents. Independent verification on the ground in occupied areas is limited, complicating efforts to confirm details and coordinate emergency response.
What to watch next
Watch for updates on restoration timelines from Ukrainian and occupation authorities, further reports on civilian casualties, and progress in diplomatic talks in Washington and at Davos. International aid and winter preparedness measures will be central if outages persist or spread.
The situation remains fluid, with both military and civilian consequences as attacks on energy infrastructure continue amid diplomatic efforts to find a longer term settlement.
UkraineZaporizhzhiapower outagesenergy infrastructureRussia
