Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast was once again the target of Russia’s latest onslaught of strikes and was hit with an overnight loss of power on the night of January 10 to 11. The blackout occurred in the southeastern Ukraine region at 2.11am, leaving the Oblast completely without electricity.
More than 382,000 households were left without electricity at the height of the Ukrainian winter, when temperatures typically range between 0C and -6C, although cold snaps can bring temperatures down to -20C. Both Zaporizhzhiaobkenergo, a regional electricity distribution company, and the regional administration described the situation as an “emergency”, but did not specify the cause.
“Three people were injured as a result of enemy attacks on the Zaporizhzhia region,” Ivan Fedorov, Governor (Head of the Regional Military Administration) of Zaporizhzhia, who previously served as Mayor of Melitopol before the city’s Russian occupation, wrote on Telegram. “In total, during the day, the invaders launched 821 strikes on 27 settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region.
“Russian troops carried out 6 airstrikes on Rozhdvyanka, Samiylivka, Novoukrainka, Shevchenkivske, Yurkivka, and Tavriyske,” Mr Fedorov continued, while adding that 468 UAVs of various modifications (mostly FPV) attacked regions including Zaporizhzhia, Stepove, Varvarivka and Solodke. This was on top of five Grad MLRS attacks – self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launchers designed in the Soviet Union – and 342 artillery strikes elsewhere in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
At around 4.30am, the administration announced that the power supply had begun to be restored. No casualties were reported.
Russia has regularly conducted intense bombardments of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since it invaded in February 2022, causing multi-hour daily blackouts in major cities, including Kyiv. Indeed, the capital’s water and heating systems were briefly shut down on Saturday (January 10) as engineers worked to stabilise the power grid brought to the brink by a campaign of Russian strikes this week.
Attacks on Friday (January 9) “have resulted in significant civilian casualties and deprived millions of Ukrainians of essential services, including electricity, heating and water at a time of acute humanitarian need,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General.
This comes after a previous report by Ukraine’s Air Force on January 11 that strikes by 22 attack UAVs were recorded at 18 locations, and debris fell at two locations. Russia attacked Ukraine with 154 Shahed, Gerbera-type strike UAVs and other drones overnight, of which 125 were reported as shot down or jammed.
