Ukraine cuts power to 60,000 as Kherson truce expires
Russian strikes on energy grids coincide with the end of a humanitarian pause that allowed civilians to leave Oleshky.
By Anthony Foster ·
More than 60,000 residents in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region remained without electricity on Saturday evening. The governor of the region reported that while most customers had power restored by early evening, a large segment of the population still faced blackouts as crews worked through the night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in four regions overnight. He described the intensity of the attacks over the past week as extremely high. Zelensky noted that Russia was exploiting a shortage of ballistic missile interceptors. He said Ukraine communicated its need for Patriot missiles to the United States, Europe, and other partners every day.
A separate overnight strike in the Vinnytsia region killed two people. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that one of the victims was a 13-year-old girl. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces targeted a major missile fuel producer in Russia's Rostov region. Zelensky said the hit caused a fire and damaged four production facilities.
Emergency power cuts are now standard across Ukraine due to regular attacks on the grid. In the capital, Kyiv, electricity is cut off for most of the day, and water supplies are disrupted. Repair crews continue to work to restore connections in the Dnipropetrovsk region and other affected areas.
A rare humanitarian ceasefire in the Kherson region ended at 22:59 local time on Sunday. The pause in fighting began on Tuesday and was brokered with the help of US First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo. It allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, which has been under Russian control since February 2022.
Residents of Oleshky were trapped between the Dnipro River and Russian forces. Escape routes were mined and subject to drone attack. Many residents suffered severe shortages of food, water, and electricity, with some cooking garden weeds to survive. The truce permitted evacuees to travel through Russian-occupied territory to southern Russia, where they flew to Belarus before crossing into Ukraine.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, said the oldest evacuee was 94 years old and the youngest was one. Evacuation routes required travel just 5 kilometers from Ukrainian military positions, yet evacuees had to traverse occupied land to reach safety. Emotional reunions took place in Kyiv on Saturday between families separated for years.
