The Ukrainian Armed Forces have carried out a wide drone offensive against the electrical grid in areas occupied by Russia in the last 48 hours, hitting up to 16 substations in the Crimean peninsula and in other regions such as Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk.
The impact of these attacks is already clearly felt in the electricity supply of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The pro-Russian military governor of Kherson, Volodymyr Saldo, has admitted that there are total or partial power outages in all districts of the province, reflecting the magnitude of the damage to the infrastructure.
In Zaporizhzhia, the pro-Russian head of the region, Yevhen Balitskyi, has also confirmed interruptions in the electricity service. "Several electrical facilities are affected. There is a partial blackout. Engineers are working to stabilize the grid," he stated on his social media accounts, emphasizing the efforts to restore normality.
The commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert 'Magyar' Brovdi, has detailed that among the targets hit are the substations of Kovilne, Stepne, Yani Kapu, Traktovo, Niva, Zimno, Bakhchysarai, Saki Zakhidno-Krimska, and Slavianske, all located on the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula.
According to the same source, the substations of Henichesk and Overianivka in the Kherson region have also been damaged. Likewise, the facilities of Lozovske and Pokrovske in the Luhansk area have been attacked, as well as Preobrayenka in Kherson, and Novovasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, expanding the radius of action on the energy infrastructure controlled by Moscow.
In parallel to these bombings against the electrical grid, Ukrainian forces have directed their drones and missiles against an airfield in Crimea, as well as several military material depots and strategic bridges in the area, in an attempt to degrade Russian logistical capacity in southern Ukraine.
Since July 1, a total of 37 electrical facilities located in Russian-controlled territories in southern Ukraine have been hit by Ukrainian attacks, resulting in a progressive deterioration of the energy grid in these occupied areas.
The Ukrainian offensives against Russian energy infrastructure have led to fuel supply problems at numerous gas stations in the country. In the specific case of Crimea, the pro-Russian authorities acknowledge that the damage to fuel-related facilities is especially severe, aggravating the shortage and logistical difficulties on the peninsula.