Ukraine says people in multiple regions lose power supply following Russian energy strikes

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine said on Monday that consumers in multiple regions lost power supply following overnight Russian energy strikes.

Ukrenergo, the country’s power grid operator, said in a statement on Telegram that the attacks on energy infrastructure cut power supply in Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy region.

Indicating that restoration efforts are underway “wherever the security situation currently allows,” the statement said energy consumption has increased because of a significant drop in temperature throughout Ukraine, as well as due to a smaller volume of restrictive measures applied in some regions.

“Due to difficult weather conditions, 162 settlements in three regions, namely Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad, were completely or partially de-energized in the morning,” the statement said, adding repair teams are working to restore damaged power lines.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on US social media company X that there were new Russian attacks on energy facilities in frontline and border communities during the past day.

He said that after a coordination call on the situation in Ukraine there were no targeted strikes by Russia against energy infrastructure, but said the Russian military focused on attacks against logistics, primarily railway infrastructure.

"In particular, there were strikes in the Dnipro region and in Zaporizhzhia, specifically targeting railway facilities,” he said.

He added that, as of Monday, energy workers and repair crews fully restored the energy system to its state before a “technical failure” that was declared by Ukrainian authorities on Saturday. But, he added, “all challenges remain serious” given the impact of attacks and cold weather.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force claimed that air defenses shot down 157 out of 171 drones launched by Russia overnight. It said a ballistic missile was also launched, but gave no further details.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he “personally asked” his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin not to fire on Kyiv and various Ukrainian cities amid “extreme cold” weather for a week.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had confirmed that Trump asked Putin to halt strikes in Ukraine until Feb. 1, but declined to say whether the Russian president agreed to the request.

Separately, Ukrainian private energy provider DTEK reported an attack on its coal enterprise in the Dnipropetrovsk region for the second time since Sunday, damaging administrative buildings.

A day earlier, the company said an attack on a bus with DTEK miners in Dnipropetrovsk killed 12 people and injured 16 others.

Russian authorities have yet to comment on the latest developments.