Russia destroys key energy facility in Kherson, leaving civilians without power

Russian military forces destroyed a critical energy infrastructure facility in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson following prolonged artillery and drone attacks.

This comes after Ukraine and Russia agreed to a temporary energy truce negotiated by the United States. The ceasefire, declared mid-March, was intended to last 30 days, during which both sides agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure such as power-generating facilities, electricity substations, transformers, and gas distribution networks.

The energy truce officially concluded by mid-April; however, both countries accused each other of violating the agreement while it was still in place. Ukraine reported over 30 recorded breaches within the month, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

According to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, the facility, which provided electricity to Kherson, was targeted continuously over a 24-hour period.

Despite Ukrainian military efforts to defend the site throughout the night, Russian forces successfully destroyed the infrastructure by morning.

"Russians have once again cynically violated agreements and have been massively striking one of the key enterprises of our energy infrastructure for more than a day," Prokudin stated.

Energy workers are now working to stabilize the power situation in Kherson, but Prokudin warned residents to conserve electricity as "forced power outages may occur in the near future."

The attack is part of a broader pattern of Russian military activity in Kherson Oblast. During the same period, Russian forces shelled multiple settlements across the area, damaging residential buildings, private homes, an ambulance, and civilian vehicles.

The Regional Military Administration reports that these attacks resulted in injuries to 12 people, including one child.

When the full-scale invasion began, Russian forces occupied Kherson; however, Ukrainian troops liberated the city and the western bank of the Dnieper River in November 2022. Russia controls parts of eastern Kherson Oblast, but Putin claims all of Kherson Oblast as part of Russia's territory.

Due to a close proximity to the Russian-occupied area, the liberated Kherson Oblast is regularly shelled, causing daily casualties and infrastructure damage.