Russian strikes leave more than 600,000 without power in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region

Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in Ukraine left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity. Al Jazeera, Anadolu and Le Monde all report this.

More than 600,000 people in the Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro) region lost power. Al Jazeera attributes this figure to the energy company DTEK. Anadolu attributes it to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian strikes on Saturday also damaged energy infrastructure, according to Al Jazeera, which cites Ukraine's Ministry of Energy. Le Monde also reported Saturday strikes on energy infrastructure. Its summary does not name a source. It says the strikes damaged key energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepares for a harsh winter.

Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv

The Dnipropetrovsk outages followed a Russian overnight attack on an energy facility, according to a DTEK Telegram post cited by Al Jazeera. On Sunday, they affected residents of the Pavlohrad, Samarivskyi, Kamianske and Dnipro districts and the city of Dnipro. Engineers were at the site trying to restore the facility, according to DTEK. The company said "repairs are being complicated by repeated attacks", Al Jazeera reported.

Another 250,000 people in the Kharkiv region lost power on Sunday after a Russian strike on an infrastructure facility there, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera puts the total across the two regions at about 850,000.

In Zlatopil, Mayor Mykola Baksheyev wrote on Telegram: "No casualties have been reported", Al Jazeera quoted him as saying. Al Jazeera's report adds: "Power engineers are currently working to repair the damage; however, the exact timeframe for restoring the electricity supply remains unknown." Al Jazeera does not explicitly state who said this. It also does not state explicitly where Zlatopil is located.

On Saturday, Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said a massive attack on energy facilities had cut power to residents in five regions. It said the attack significantly hampered electricity transmission in Kyiv, according to Al Jazeera. The reports do not name the five regions.

What each side says

President Zelenskyy said Russia is intensifying attacks to put pressure on Kyiv ahead of US-brokered trilateral talks, according to Al Jazeera. The talks are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Al Jazeera reported.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Telegram that its forces will "continue to carry out strikes against Ukrainian fuel and energy infrastructure facilities", according to Al Jazeera. It said these facilities are used to aid the Ukrainian military. The statement, as cited, does not refer to the specific Dnipropetrovsk or Kharkiv strikes.

What remains unclear

The Dnipropetrovsk figure comes from DTEK and President Zelenskyy; Al Jazeera does not name a source for the Kharkiv figure. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include independent verification of these figures. They do not include casualty figures for the Dnipropetrovsk region. They do not describe the weapons used. They do not say how many customers have had power restored, or when restoration is expected.

Analysis

The strikes come shortly before scheduled US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi. Ukraine's president links the timing to the talks. Russia's defence ministry says it will continue striking fuel and energy facilities that, it says, are used to aid the Ukrainian military. The reports reviewed do not establish whether the timing is connected to the talks. Several scenarios are possible. Further strikes could slow repairs, as DTEK says repeated attacks already do. The talks could also address attacks on energy infrastructure, or they may not. Independent verification of outage figures and restoration timelines would help clarify the scale of the disruption for residents.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.

Transparency note: objections from our AI reviewers

Objections raised before publication:

• Tribunal: Loaded term: "massive"
• Vocemundi automatic checks: Tribunal: needs fix

No reviewer declined to review it.

Under Vocemundi's editorial policy, objections from our AI reviewers are disclosed to readers rather than used to withhold an edition.