Ukrainian strikes cut power to key Russian-held areas

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

Ukrainian attacks triggered power cuts over swathes of Russian-controlled territory in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in Ukraine's south, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity, Russia-installed officials said.
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 Russia 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.
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," Mr Belitsky wrote.
The attacks came hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey for peace talks where Russia said it would only agree to end the war if Ukraine gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.
The Zaporizhzhia region energy ministry 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 UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 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.
Trump open to meeting Zelensky and Putin
US President Donald Trump is "open" to meeting his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in Turkey, the White House said, after the two sides failed Monday to make headway towards an elusive ceasefire yesterday.
Delegations from both sides did, however, agree another large-scale prisoner exchange in their meeting in Istanbul, which in mid-May also hosted their first round of face-to-face talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed that Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Trump come together for a third round later this month in either Istanbul or Ankara.
Mr Putin has so far refused such a meeting. However, Mr Zelensky has said he is willing, underlining that key issues can only be resolved at leaders-level.
Mr Trump, who wants a swift end to the three-year war, is "open" to a three-way summit "if it comes to that, but he wants both of these leaders and both sides to come to the table together", White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in Washington.
But despite Mr Trump's willingness to meet with Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky, no US representative took part in yesterday's talks in Istanbul, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Mr Zelensky said that, "we are very much awaiting strong steps from the United States" and urged Mr Trump to toughen sanctions on Russia to "push" it to agree to a full ceasefire.
Ukraine said yesterday that Russia had rejected its call for an unconditional ceasefire. It offered instead a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline.
Russia will only agree a full ceasefire if Ukrainian troops pull back entirely from four regions - Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - according to its negotiating terms reported on by Russian state media.
Russia currently only partly controls those regions.
Russia has also demanded a ban on Ukraine joining NATO, limiting Ukraine's military and ending Western military support.
Top negotiators from both sides agreed to swap all severely wounded soldiers and captured fighters under the age of 25.
Russia's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said it would involve "at least 1,000" on each side.
The two sides also agreed to hand over the bodies of 6,000 soldiers, Ukraine said after the talks.