Hundreds of thousands of residents in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region were left without electricity and some without water on Tuesday after Russian forces launched another large-scale bombardment targeting energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said.
According to the Energy Ministry, the regional capital, Chernihiv, and the northern part of the province suffered a complete power outage following overnight strikes that also hit neighbouring Sumy region. The attacks are part of Russia’s renewed campaign against Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter.
Repair efforts were delayed as Russian drones continued circling damaged sites, preventing emergency crews from restoring power. The ministry accused Moscow of intentionally worsening the humanitarian situation by making repairs unsafe.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that repair work was underway, describing the attacks as part of Russia’s strategy to “murder people and terrorise them with the cold.” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the strikes as “brutal,” adding that many communities were left without electricity or water amid falling autumn temperatures.
Chernihiv’s acting mayor, Oleksandr Lomako, said Russia aimed to deprive residents of heat and light before winter but vowed that the city would endure. “We overcame in February–April 2022. We will overcome now,” he said.
A resident told Reuters that the city was in total blackout, with limited mobile service, while a former government official suggested Chernihiv was being targeted due to its proximity to Russia and its less fortified energy facilities.
Russia has repeatedly defended its attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, claiming the facilities serve military purposes. The latest strikes continue a pattern of intensified air assaults that have plunged Ukrainian cities far from the front lines into darkness for hours or even days.
