KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Nighttime Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, local Russian officials reported Sunday.
The report comes as Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other’s energy infrastructure and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have not advanced.
A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over 1 million people, sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.
Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram claimed the strike targeted a local thermal power plant.
A missile strike late on Saturday also caused “serious damage” to power and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported the following morning. Some 20,000 households were affected, he said.
Belgorod had a population of some 340,000 people at the last census in 2021, and is the administrative center of a region of the same name.
Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday that its forces destroyed or intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones during the night that flew over two southwestern regions, Bryansk and Rostov. The statement made no mention of either the Voronezh or Belgorod provinces, nor specify how many drones Ukraine launched.
Moscow and Kyiv have traded almost daily assaults on each other’s energy targets as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have had no impact on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
