Ukrainian strikes cut power to key Russian-held areas, officials say
Officials said there was no effect on operations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station - Europe's largest nuclear facility which was seized by Russia in the weeks after Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian officials running the plant said radiation levels were normal at the facility, which operates in shutdown mode and produces no power at the moment.
Russia-installed governors in the two regions - which are among the key areas that Moscow demands that Ukraine give up in order for the war to end - said the Ukrainian attacks prompted authorities to introduce emergency measures to preserve power sources.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 600,000 people in nearly 500 settlements in Zaporizhzhia were without electricity, after shelling by Ukraine's forces damaged high-voltage infrastructure, Russia-installed Governor Yevgeny Belitsky wrote on Telegram.
"As a result of shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, high-voltage equipment was damaged in the northwestern part of the Zaporizhzhia region," Belitsky wrote.
The attacks came hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey for peace talks where Moscow said it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.
The Energy Ministry of Zaporizhzhia region has been instructed to conserve sources of power and healthcare sites have been transferred to reserve power sources.
In the adjacent Kherson region, farther west, Russia-appointed Governor Vladimir Saldo said debris from fallen drones had damaged two substations, knocking out power to more than 100,000 residents of 150 towns and villages in Russian-held areas. Emergency crews working to restore power quickly, he said.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
For many long months in the winter, it was Ukrainian towns and villages that endured repeated electricity cuts as Russian attacks focused strikes on generating capacity.
Each side has repeatedly accused the other of launching attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and running the risk of a nuclear accident.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last week in response to a Ukrainian complaint that it saw no sign that Russia was preparing to restart the Zaporizhzhia plant and connect it to the Russian grid.
The IAEA has stationed monitors permanently at Zaporizhzhia and Ukraine's other nuclear power stations. REUTERS
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