Over million in Ukraine without electricity amid ‘massive’ Russian strikes

Several parts of Ukraine faced blackouts for hours – several with water supplies cut off temporarily – in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called a ‘very wide’ scale attack by Moscow.

More than a million households in war-torn Ukraine are reeling under power cuts as Russian missiles pounded energy facilities and other infrastructure across the country, senior officials at the Ukraine presidency said. Several parts of Ukraine faced blackouts for hours – several with water supplies cut off temporarily – on Saturday in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called a ‘very wide’ scale attack.

A local resident drinks a lemonade inside a dark cafe during an electricity power cut due to a Russian missile attack, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. (REUTERS)

Zelensky said Russia had launched a “massive attack” overnight, with some 36 missiles fired, most of them intercepted.

"As of now, 672,000 subscribers have been disconnected in Khmelnytskyi region, 188,400 in Mykolaiv region, 102,000 in Volyn region, 242,000 in Cherkasy region, 174,790 in Rivne region, 61,913 in Kirovograd region and 10,500 in Odessa region," deputy head of the Ukrainian presidency Kyrylo Tymoshenko said in a social media post.

"The geography of this latest mass strike is very wide," Zelensky said in his nightly video address and pledged that his military would improve on an already good record of downing missiles with help from its partners.

According to Reuters, power shortages were faced in western, central and southern parts of Ukraine, in cities including Mykolaiv and Nikopol. Parts of Kyiv also suffered power cuts last evening onwards. In one central district, shops were closed and traffic lights were off, the report said.

Meanwhile, in Kherson, which links Ukraine to the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, thousands of civilians have already started leaving across the Dnipro River fearing another offensive to recapture the city.

Since October 10, with a new military command, Russia launched devastating salvos at Ukraine's power infrastructure, attacking nearly half of its thermal power generation. almost 40 per cent of Ukraine's power supply system was destroyed.

Zelensky said teams were working to restore power to affected areas. Further, emergency vehicles driving around the city would warn of incoming aerial threats, officials said.

(With agency inputs)