Russian strikes left four dead and hundreds of thousands without power and water in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region on Tuesday as the winter months loom.
Chernihiv and the northern part of the province lost all electricity supply after Russian strikes obliterated power facilities in the morning, the nation’s energy ministry said.
The attack also targeted the neighboring Sumy region, where local authorities said nine people were injured.
People sheltering inside an invincibility center in Chernihiv, Ukraine, charging devices at a table due to power outages from a Russian drone attack. REUTERSAbout 20 Russian kamikaze drones then attacked Novhorod-Siverskyi, killing four civilians and wounding at least seven more, according to officials.
It is unclear what the drones were targeting, but the town 20 miles from the Russian border suffered significant damage during the daytime assault.
Chernihiv residents used street cisterns to fill up water containers and took comfort from “invincibility points” — tents outfitted with stoves and generators for heat and electricity.
“It’s hard,” nursery assistant Nina Dymyrets, 45, said as she sat in a tent with her two grandsons.
“One child didn’t go to nursery because there was no power, another didn’t go to school because there was no power and no lessons either.”
The Chernihiv region along the Russian border has suffered regular disruptions to its power supply amid a brutal campaign of strikes.
Emergency crews were initially unable to repair damaged power facilities due to a lingering threat of Russian drone attacks, according to the energy ministry.
People in a tent using devices, warming up, and drinking hot beverages due to a power outage in Chernihiv, Ukraine. REUTERS
A man fills up plastic bottles with water from a temporary distribution point in Chernihiv, Ukraine. REUTERS
A woman plugs a charger into a power strip to charge her mobile phone at an invincibility center in Chernihiv, Ukraine. REUTERSThe ministry has accused Russia of circling drones above the damaged facilities to “deliberately prolong the humanitarian crisis” and delay repairs.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later wrote on Telegram that repairs were underway.
“Russia’s tactics are to murder people and terrorize them with the cold,” he said.
By the afternoon, power supply was restored to some Chernihiv homes.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin pretends to be ready for diplomacy and peace negotiations, while in reality, this night Russia launched a brutal missile and drone attack,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
“Energy infrastructure was under heavy strikes once again. Many communities have been left without power amid cold autumn temperatures, some have been left without water,” he wrote.
People use an “invincibility center” tent for warmth and to charge devices in Chernihiv, Ukraine. REUTERS
Mobile devices charging on a table at an invincibility center in Chernihiv, Ukraine. REUTERS“While our energy response teams are working to restore power, I once again call on all of our partners in Europe and beyond to urgently mobilize additional assistance for Ukraine’s resilience: from energy equipment to energy sources and air defense capabilities,” Sybiha continued.
The attack comes as President Trump said he no longer plans to hold a second in-person summit with Putin “in the immediate future” after Russia rejected Trump’s demand to stop the war in Ukraine along the current battle lines.
“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” Trump told reporters when asked why he axed the sitdown.
“I don’t want to have a waste of time.”
With Post wires
