Russian drone strikes trigger power cuts in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih, military says

Russian drones struck critical infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday, triggering emergency power blackouts for more than 45,000 customers and disrupting heat supplies, local officials said.

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s military administration, urged residents to prepare for prolonged outages. “Please fill up on water and charge your devices, if you have the chance. It’s going to be difficult,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Water utility pumping stations switched to generators and water supplies remained available, though authorities warned of possible pressure problems. The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear, and Russia did not comment on the strike.

Since the start of its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power plants, substations and transmission lines with missiles and drones, aiming to cripple electricity and heating systems and disrupt industry. Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts nationwide, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid.

Kryvyi Rih, a major steel and mining hub in the Dnipropetrovsk region and the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been hit repeatedly during the war. Previous strikes have killed civilians and damaged homes and industrial facilities.

Located close enough to southern front lines to be within strike range, the city’s factories, logistics links and workforce make it economically important and a key rear-area center supporting Ukraine’s war effort.