Ukrainian officials on Sunday accused Russia of causing electric blackouts across much of eastern Ukraine, as Ukraine’s military touts the recapture of critical territory in formerly Russian-occupied areas of the country’s northeast.
The regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv are facing total blackouts, while the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions are also affected, President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted Sunday, alleging Russian forces were aiming to “deprive people of light & heat.”
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram a strike on an infrastructure facility in the city of Kharkiv—the second-largest city in Ukraine—had left many people without power and water, claiming it was Russia’s “vile and cynical revenge” for Ukraine’s recent military successes in the region.
The blackouts come after Ukraine’s military said it had retaken more than 1,000 square miles of previously Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the month, primarily in the Kharkiv region, forcing Russian forces to retreat from key cities like Izyum.
