Three people were killed on Wednesday in Russia’s Belgorod region when Ukrainian drone strikes struck the area bordering Ukraine, local Russian authorities announced. The incidents coincided with a series of power outages that spread across Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Zhytomyr, as well as parts of the Russian‑occupied peninsula of Crimea.
In Kyiv, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed on Telegram that a strike hit the Kyiv and Zhytomyr power‑generation stations overnight, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks damaged power generation facilities and substations in nine regions, creating emergency outages. The outages lasted several hours, forcing residents to rely on public drinking‑water fountains and emergency centres that offered hot tea and charge points. In Crimea, residents also experienced power cuts, which officials said were caused by the attacks on energy infrastructure.
Russian officials claimed to have destroyed the Ukrainian drones and targeted energy infrastructure – a statement that has not been independently verified. Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Moscow is striking its energy grid as temperatures fall before winter.
