Russian strikes cause blackouts in thousands of Ukrainian towns, threaten power grid

Thousands of towns and villages across Ukraine have been left without power after Russia ramped up its attacks in recent days, Ukrainian officials announced. 

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky said that more than 30% of the country’s power stations have been destroyed over the past eight days due to Russian missile attacks. 

"In the period from October 7 to 18, as a result of shelling of energy facilities, about 4,000 settlements in 11 regions [of Ukraine] were cut off.,” said emergency services spokesman Oleksandr Khorunzhyi.

"Currently, according to the energy ministry, 1,162 settlements remain without power," the emergency services spokesman said, adding that more than 70 people have been killed in rocket and drone strikes since October 7. 

After being setback on the battlefield, Russia has increased its attacks against Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting electricity infrastructure in cities that are far away from the battle’s front lines. 

The attacks in the early hours of Tuesday hit Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east, Mykolaiv in the south, and Dnipro and Zhytomyr in the central region.

Ukrainian authorities have scrambled to repair the damage. However, in some places, it is taking more time than expected. Officials in the affected regions have said hospitals are running on backup generators. 

The recent attacks have raised concerns about how the country’s power grid will respond ahead of winter. 

"Everyone should be ready, first, to save electricity, and second, rolling power blackouts are also possible if strikes continue," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office. 

"The entire population needs to prepare for a tough winter," he added.