Odessa without electricity after Russian kamikaze drone attack
The southern Ukrainian city of Odessa has been almost completely without electricity following a Russian kamikaze drone attack overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday, citing by AFP.
"At the moment, the city is without electricity," said an adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency, Kirilo Tymoshenko, in a message on his Telegram account. According to him, essential infrastructure, including hospitals and maternity hospitals, still have access to electricity. "The situation remains difficult, but it is under control," Tymoshenko said.
According to Maksim Marcenko, the governor of Odessa region, Russia attacked the city with "kamikaze drones" on the night of Friday to Saturday. "As a result of these strikes, there is no electricity in almost all districts and communities in our region," he said.
Two drones were shot down by Ukrainian air defence units, Maksim Marcenko added.
On Friday, Kiev pointed out that the country's war-torn southern regions, including Odessa, were suffering the most from blackouts, days after the latest round of Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid. Russia fired dozens of cruise missiles at key infrastructure on Monday, putting further pressure on the country's already strained power grid from previous attacks.
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would continue to strike Ukraine's energy grid, despite Western protests over the systematic attacks that have plunged millions of people into cold and darkness.
