Russian attacks have led to widespread power outages across seven regions of Ukraine, according to an early morning report from the national electricity transmission operator, Ukrenergo.
The company indicated that the most severe disruptions were felt in the Donetsk and Kherson regions, where damage to energy infrastructure resulted in significant new outages. Additional areas affected include Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhzhia, following overnight and morning bombardments.
Since the onset of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russian forces have targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. As autumn 2025 approached, these attacks intensified, causing a widening gap between energy generation capacity and consumption needs, leading to prolonged power shortages. While many regions had previously implemented scheduled blackouts, the arrival of spring and increased solar energy generation had eased some of these restrictions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on March 24 that Russian forces continue their operations aimed at undermining Ukraine’s energy system. The Security Service of Ukraine has classified these strikes on energy facilities as crimes against humanity.
In early February 2026, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Russia had not initiated attacks on civilian targets, asserting that Ukraine was the first to strike its energy facilities.
Recent Russian missile strikes have caused power outages in seven Ukrainian regions, with Donetsk and Kherson facing the worst impacts. The ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure have been classified by Ukrainian authorities as crimes against humanity.