SRINAGAR: Russian forces struck a coal mine in southeastern Ukraine and an energy facility in the country’s north, causing extensive damage and disrupting electricity supplies to tens of thousands of residents, Ukrainian energy operators said, according to Reuters.
Private energy company DTEK, as per The Kyiv Independent, confirmed that a colliery in the Dnipropetrovsk region had been targeted. The firm said all 192 miners working underground were safely brought to the surface with no injuries reported. It marked the fourth Russian attack in two months on coal mining operations run by the company, which is Ukraine’s largest private energy producer.
In a separate incident, Chernihivoblenergo, the regional energy provider in the northern border region of Chernihiv, reported that a strike had severely damaged local infrastructure, leaving about 55,000 users without power. The company said emergency repair crews were on standby and would begin restoration efforts once the area was deemed safe.
The latest attacks form part of a broader Russian campaign targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as the country prepares for another harsh winter. Moscow has intensified strikes on power plants, transmission lines, and storage facilities in recent weeks, forcing production halts and limiting access to electricity and heating across several regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of waging an “energy war” designed to inflict maximum hardship on civilians, warning that Moscow seeks to create an “energy disaster” to undermine morale and stability during the colder months.
Despite mounting damage, Ukrainian authorities said contingency measures were in place to manage power outages and ensure essential services remain operational as the country braces for renewed winter assaults on its already strained energy grid.
