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Ukrainian drone attack knocks out power in Russia-controlled areas of Zaporizhzhia
A view of the penal colony hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine. Reuters file
Overnight Ukrainian drone attack in the Zaporizhzhia region knocked out power in several Russia-controlled areas, the Moscow-installed governor has said.
'The reason for the power cuts in Zaporizhzhia region is yet another enemy terrorist drone attack on high-voltage equipment,' Moscow-appointed Governor Yevgeny Balitsky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The governor said that authorities are trying to restore power and switch affected areas to reserve lines, but the process is getting hindered 'by the danger of repeat strikes and by darkness'.
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Russian forces hold well over half of the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine's southeast. But Kyiv maintains control of the region's main administrative centre, and its attacks have periodically knocked out electricity in Russian-held areas.
Russia in 2022 annexed the Zaporizhzhia region, along with neighbouring Kherson, as well as Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's east, about seven months after invading its smaller neighbour.
In June, Ukrainian shelling in the region cut power to at least 700,000 residents for more than 24 hours. That attack appeared to be the largest of its kind on Russian-held territory since the war began.
The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest with six reactors, was operating as normal, unaffected by the power cuts, the plant's director of communications, Yevgenia Yashina, told Russia's RIA news agency.
Zelenskyy-Putin meet
Meanwhile, the White House is making arrangements for a potential meeting between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin on Monday told Trump that he was willing to meet Zelenskyy, according to US State Secretary Marco Rubio.
Rubio said that the Trump administration is looking at a give-and-take approach to resolve the conflict. But the question remains what Russia might be willing to offer in exchange for concessions from Ukraine.
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Switzerland and Austria said Tuesday that they would host Putin if he came for talks on peace in Ukraine, despite the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant.
With inputs from agencies
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