Russian border regions face blackouts after Ukrainian strikes, governors say

Governors of two Russian regions bordering Ukraine said Tuesday that residents are facing sustained power outages as a result of Ukrainian attacks on energy targets.

LONDON -- Governors of two Russian regions bordering Ukraine said Tuesday that residents are facing sustained power outages as a result of Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure, as both sides continue long-range strikes in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's western Belgorod region said in posts to Telegram that power and heating outages had forced hundreds of people to rely on "heating points."

"Unfortunately, rolling blackouts are inevitable," Gladkov said, noting that Belgorod city will be among the areas subject to unpredictable outages.

Gov. Alexander Khinshtein of the neighboring Kursk region said that 28,000 customers were without power as a result of "another series of cowardly attacks on our territory."

Both regions have been subject to regular Ukrainian drone, missile and artillery attacks. Both have also seen Ukrainian ground incursions during the nearly 4-year-old war.