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Crimea plunged into blackout as Russia and Ukraine trade overnight drone strikes
Power went out across occupied Crimea and two people were hurt in Kyiv as both sides kept up long-range attacks, a day after agreeing a local truce in Oleshky.
Key points
- Power failed across the whole of occupied Crimea overnight, including Sevastopol and Simferopol.
- Ukraine's air force said it downed 101 of 126 Russian drones launched from Friday evening.
- Russia's defence ministry claimed it shot down 616 Ukrainian drones over 20 regions and the seas.
Electricity went out across the whole of Russian-occupied Crimea in the early hours of Saturday, as Russia and Ukraine traded overnight drone strikes only a day after agreeing to a local ceasefire in the southern town of Oleshky.
Residents reported the lights failing at once in Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yalta, Feodosia, Dzhankoi, Alushta and Yevpatoria. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, confirmed the outage in his city. He blamed damage to energy infrastructure outside Sevastopol and said hospitals, schools and other social facilities had switched to backup power.
Before the power went, Russian mobile fire teams were seen firing at unidentified targets in the air near Baherove, close to Kerch, and at least four explosions were heard in the Pervomaiske district. Occupation authorities have not said what knocked out the key substations.
Kyiv and Kharkiv under fire
On the Ukrainian side, the air force said Russia launched 126 drones between 6 pm on Friday and the morning, among them 61 jet-powered Shahed-type craft, Gerbera drones and Parodiya decoys meant to soak up air defences. They came from Oryol, Kursk, Shatalovo, Bryansk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, from occupied Donetsk, from Hvardiiske in Crimea and from over the Sea of Azov.
Air defence units brought down or jammed 101 of them, including 50 jet-powered Shaheds. Hits were recorded at 14 locations.
In Kyiv, air raid sirens sounded at about 3:42 am. A drone damaged a private house in the northern Obolonskyi district and two people were injured, the city’s military administration said. In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a drone struck the Industrialnyi district.
On Friday, Russian aircraft dropped three FAB-250 glide bombs on Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, killing one civilian and wounding six, three of them children, regional prosecutors said. At least 27 houses were damaged.
Moscow’s version
Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences destroyed 616 Ukrainian drones overnight over 20 regions, the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and Crimea. It also said it struck a facility at the port of Chornomorsk, in the Odesa region, that it described as “used for the production of uncrewed surface vessels”, and hit a dry-cargo ship heading to Odesa.
In the Rostov region, Governor Yury Slyusar said falling drone debris damaged a municipal transport depot in the regional capital and a substation in Kalinin, cutting power to more than 170 homes. One person was hurt.
Deep inside Russia, drones hit the Tolyattikauchuk plant in Tolyatti, in the Samara region, and set it on fire, according to local Telegram channels and footage analysed by independent monitors. The plant, owned by the Tatneft group, makes synthetic rubber used in solid rocket fuel. It was struck once before, on 12 June.
A truce for one town
The strikes came hours after Moscow and Kyiv confirmed a temporary ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-held town on the left bank of the Dnipro in the Kherson region, which has been living with severe shortages. The White House has credited US first lady Melania Trump with brokering the deal. The two sides and Washington have given different start dates, but the pause is due to take effect next week.
The Oleshky deal covers only that town and does not touch the long-range strikes the two sides keep launching at each other’s territory.