Ukraine War: Kharkiv blackouts caused by Russian strikes, alleges Zelensky

Ukraine has reported blackouts in the Eastern regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk after alleged Russian strikes on power plants and civilian infrastructure.

The mayor of Kharkiv Ihor Terekhov said that Russians had attacked civilian infrastructure

These strikes are termed retaliatory by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as Ukraine retook an area of 2500 sq km in the Kharkiv Oblast in a counter-offensive operation, pushing them closer to the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Ukraine’s counter-attacks led to the recapture of Izyum and Kupiansk which were vital to Russian supply lines for the war on the northeastern theatre which is around the city of Kharkiv.

Terekhov had stated that the Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure left most of his city without power or water on Sunday evening.

He termed the attacks an act of vile and cynical revenge for the Ukrainian army’s recent successes.

Russia aims to deprive people of light and heat by causing power cuts across eastern Ukraine in revenge for a Ukrainian counter-offensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Terekhov and the governor of the region requested to calm down while stating that the emergency services were attempting to repair damage and put out flames.

More than 130 communities in just one district have lost power, according to the governor of the neighbouring Sumy region.

Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions have reported experiencing comparable issues.

In a defiant post on social media after the power cuts, President Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out “terrorist acts” by targeting civilian infrastructure.

“Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as terrible and deadly for us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood’,” he wrote on Telegram.