Russia Launches Massive Strike on Ukraine's Energy Grid, Causing Widespread Blackouts
Russia struck Ukraine’s power grid in a massive attack, causing emergency outages across most regions, even as US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi continue without a territorial breakthrough.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Across a freezing landscape, Ukraine’s lights went out as another wave of strikes swept through the country’s energy network, underscoring the fragility of diplomacy and the persistence of war even as negotiations continue.
Russian forces carried out what Ukraine’s state grid operator described as a “massive attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure, triggering widespread power outages.
“Russia is carrying out another massive attack on the Ukrainian power grid facilities,” Ukrenergo said in a statement on Telegram on Saturday.
“Due to the damage caused by the enemy, emergency outages have been applied in most regions,” the operator added.
Ukrenergo said the attack was still ongoing and noted: “Restoration work will begin as soon as the security situation allows.”
Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow of deliberately targeting energy infrastructure, causing outages that have left hundreds of thousands of people without lighting or heating in temperatures well below zero.
The strikes came despite ongoing diplomatic efforts. Russia has continued its invasion in recent days even as Ukraine and Russia have been holding US-brokered talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-long war.
Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of US-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi since January. The two sides have agreed to a major prisoner swap but have made no breakthrough on the issue of territory, which remains a key sticking point.
Moscow has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the shooting of a top military intelligence general in the Russian capital on Friday, leaving him wounded. Kyiv has not commented.
Russian authorities said a senior military intelligence official was shot and wounded inside an apartment building in Moscow on Friday, describing the incident as an assassination attempt allegedly orchestrated by Ukraine.
Investigators said Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, was shot by an “unidentified individual” who fled the scene. Alekseyev was hospitalized, and his condition was not immediately disclosed.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Ukraine has previously claimed responsibility for some attacks targeting senior Russian military officials since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Alekseyev has been sanctioned by Western countries over allegations of involvement in cyberattacks and accusations that he helped organize a nerve agent attack on a Russian defector in the United Kingdom.
In televised remarks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of carrying out what he described as a “terrorist act,” claiming Kyiv was attempting to “disrupt the negotiation process” aimed at ending the nearly four-year war.
The Kremlin said Russia’s security services had launched an investigation and were keeping President Vladimir Putin informed.
“The special services are doing their job,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that authorities wished Alekseyev “a speedy recovery.”
As emergency outages spread and investigations deepen, the war’s front lines now stretch from darkened cities to negotiating tables with no territorial agreement in sight.