Russia launched a massive drone attack on energy and gas transportation infrastructure in six Ukrainian regions overnight, leaving more than 100,000 people without power, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday (August 27).

Russian forces significantly damaged gas transportation infrastructure in the Poltava Region and attacked equipment at a major substation in the Sumy Region, the Energy Ministry said via the Telegram messaging service.

The attack left more than 100,000 people without power in the Poltava, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Ukraine's main gas production facilities are located in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions. The Kharkiv Region was also hit overnight, as were the Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions, the Energy Ministry said.

In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's gas production and import infrastructure despite U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "We consider the Russian attack a continuation of the Russian Federation's deliberate policy of destroying Ukraine's civilian infrastructure ahead of the heating season," the Energy Ministry said.

Ukraine has been facing a serious gas shortage since a Russian missile attack earlier this year caused a 40% drop in production. Ukraine's Energy Ministry said last week that energy facilities had been attacked 2,900 times since March 2025. The attack in the Poltava region temporarily cut off power to consumers, which was later restored, Governor Volodymyr Kohut said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Most of the northern city of Sumy experienced power outages, the Energy Ministry said.

All water utilities were relying on emergency backups as of Wednesday morning, said Serhii Kryvosheienko, head of the Sumy city military administration. Health facilities were also using backup power, he added. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 74 of the 95 drones launched by Russia overnight, and that 21 drones had attacked nine locations across the country.

Russia has denied targeting civilians since launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022, but says its energy systems and other infrastructure are legitimate targets because they aid Ukraine's war effort. (alg)

Source: Reuters