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Ukrainian strikes leave Russian border cities without power and heating
Ukrainian drone and missile strikes overnight on Saturday disrupted electricity and heating services in two major Russian cities near the border, leaving over 20,000 households in Belgorod without power and causing temporary outages in Voronezh, Russian officials reported on Sunday.
Energy infrastructure targeted amid escalating retaliation
The attacks, which hit Russian energy facilities, came a day after Russia launched one of its largest assaults on Ukraine’s power grid since the war began. Moscow fired over 450 drones and 45 missiles, crippling the energy production capacity of Centrenergo, Ukraine's state-owned energy company, according to Kyiv officials.
In Belgorod, a missile strike caused "significant damage" to power and heating systems, affecting around 20,000 households in the city of 340,000 residents, said regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Reports from Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels indicated the strike targeted the Promin thermal plant, the city's last remaining heating facility.
In Voronezh, a city of over one million people, Ukrainian drones temporarily disrupted power and heating after striking a thermal power plant, according to Governor Alexander Gusev. Several drones were "electronically jammed" during the night, triggering a fire at a utility facility that was quickly extinguished. Services were later fully restored, Gusev confirmed.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported intercepting or destroying 44 Ukrainian drones overnight in the Bryansk and Rostov regions but did not address the incidents in Belgorod or Voronezh.
Strategic strikes on energy assets
Ukraine’s strikes are part of a sustained campaign targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure and oil export revenues, which are vital to funding its military operations. According to the head of Ukraine’s Security Service, Kyiv has conducted nearly 160 strikes on Russian oil and energy facilities in 2025 alone.
Russia has intensified its own attacks on Ukraine's power grid as winter approaches, repeatedly targeting thermal plants, gas facilities, and heating systems. Ukrainian officials have condemned these efforts as an attempt to "weaponize winter." The recent Russian bombardment over the weekend killed at least seven people and left several Ukrainian regions facing daily power cuts lasting between eight and 16 hours.
Diplomatic efforts stall as energy war escalates
Despite US-led diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year conflict, progress has been minimal. Both sides continue near-daily strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, escalating the war's impact on civilians and deepening the stalemate.