Russia hits power stations after Ukraine counter-offensive
The Hindu
Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv appeared to be without power on the night of September 11.
Russia attacked power stations and other infrastructure on September 11, causing widespread outages across Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces pressed a swift counter-offensive that has driven Moscow's troops from swaths of territory it had occupied in the northeast.
The bombardment ignited a massive fire at a power station on Kharkiv's western outskirts and killed at least one person. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the “deliberate and cynical missile strikes” against civilian targets as acts of terrorism.
Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv appeared to be without power Sunday night. Cars drove through darkened streets and the few pedestrians used flashlights or mobile phones to light their way.
Separately, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Russia-occupied south completely shut down in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster as fighting raged nearby.
Kyiv's action in recent days to reclaim Russia-occupied areas in the Kharkiv region forced Moscow to withdraw its troops to prevent them from being surrounded, leaving behind significant numbers of weapons and munitions in a hasty flight as the war marked its 200th day on Sunday.
Ukraine’s military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyy, said its forces had recaptured about 3,000sqkm (1,160 square miles) since the counteroffensive began in early September. He said Ukrainian troops are only 50KM (about 30 miles) from the Russian border.
Ukraine takes back key territory