Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Russian shelling causes power blackouts across Ukraine

Russian shelling causes power blackouts across Ukraine

Russian forces continue to pound Ukrainian targets with missiles and drones, attacking cities and infrastructure.

Ukraine’s state electricity operator has announced blackouts in the capital, Kyiv, and seven other regions of the country in the aftermath of Russia’s devastating strikes on energy infrastructure.

The move comes as Russian forces continue to pound Ukrainian cities and villages with missiles and drones, inflicting damage on power plants and water supplies, in a grinding war that is nearing its nine-month mark.

Ukrenergo, the sole operator of Ukraine’s high-voltage transmission lines, initially said in an online statement on Saturday that scheduled blackouts will take place in the capital and the greater Kyiv region, as well as several regions around it – Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv.

Later in the day, however, the company released an update saying that scheduled outages for a specific number of hours are not enough and instead there will be emergency outages, which could last indefinitely.

Ukraine has been grappling with power outages and disruption of water supplies since Russia started unleashing barrages of missile and drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure last month.

The attacks came after Moscow suffered a series of battlefield defeats in northeastern Ukraine and an explosion on the Kerch Bridge, which links occupied Crimea to mainland Russia. The region was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Russia has denied that the drones it has used against Ukraine came from Iran. But Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday for the first time acknowledged supplying Moscow with “a limited number” of drones before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Hossein Amirabdollahian, however, claimed that Tehran did not know if its drones were used against Ukrainian targets and stated Iran’s commitment to stopping the conflict.

Later on Saturday, Ukraine warned Iran that “the consequences of complicity” with Moscow would be “greater than the benefit”.

“Tehran should realise that the consequences of complicity in the crimes of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine will be much greater than the benefit of Russia’s support,” foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said the Western signatories of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal claim the sale of drones by Iran to Russia is a violation of the agreement, which the United States withdrew from in 2018.

“Under the agreement, the Iranian government is not allowed to sell or import any advanced military equipment or technology,” she said.

Jabbari also said the ban in question, which was enforced in 2007, expired in October 2020.

“The Iranian officials say the excuses put forth by Western powers are ludicrous,” said Jabbari.



Russian attacks continue


Russian shelling of Ukrainian regions went on into the early hours of Saturday.

About 40 shells were fired overnight at the city of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on Telegram. Russian forces targeted the city and the areas around it with heavy artillery. Two fires broke out, and more than a dozen residential and utility buildings, as well as a gas pipeline, were damaged, the official said.

Elsewhere in the region, the Ukrainian forces shot down a drone and another projectile, according to Reznichenko.

In the southern Mykolaiv region, the overnight shelling of rural areas damaged several houses, but did not cause any casualties, Mykolaiv Governor Vitali Kim said on Telegram.

Russian forces also fired missiles at the southeastern Zaporizhia region, which has been illegally annexed by Moscow and large parts of which remain occupied. According to regional Governor Oleksandr Starukh, the attack took place shortly after midnight, damaging the buildings of three businesses and a number of cars.

In the eastern Donetsk region, also annexed and partially occupied by Russia, eight cities and villages have been shelled, including Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Porkovsk.

Russian-installed authorities in Donetsk reported an attempt on the life of a Moscow-appointed judge of the region’s Supreme Court. Alexander Nikulin, who was on a judicial panel that in June sentenced to death two Britons and a Moroccan fighting on the Ukrainian side, has been hospitalised with gunshot wounds and is in grave condition, Kremlin-backed officials said.

According to Ukraine’s presidential office, at least three civilians were killed and eight others were wounded over the past 24 hours by Russian shelling of nine Ukrainian regions, where drones, missiles and heavy artillery were used.

In the Russian-occupied Kherson region, where a Ukrainian counteroffensive is under way, the Russian military continues to abduct local residents, the presidential office said, with the most recent cases taking place over the past 24 hours.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Warren Buffett to Step Down as Berkshire CEO After Nearly 60 Years
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Pope Francis Laid to Rest in Rome as World Leaders Attend Funeral
Not Child’s Play: How Competitive Gaming Became a Global Economic Empire
California Surpasses Japan to Become the World’s Fourth-Largest Economy
Former U.S. Congressman George Santos sentenced to eighty-seven months for wide-ranging fraud
Israel Considers Limited Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Facilities Amid Diplomatic Efforts
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Worldwide Markets Decline as U.S.-China Trade Frictions Intensify
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Investment
Removing the Political Adversary is Dismantling What's Remaining of Turkey's Economy.
Ex-FIFA President and French Football Icon Acquitted of Corruption Allegations
White House Investigates Security Breach After Journalist Accidentally Added to Secret Yemen Strike Chat
Volunteers in Jeddah Ensure No One Goes Hungry During Ramadan Iftar
New Restaurant Opens in Makkah's Iconic Clock Tower for Ramadan Iftar
Saudi Arabia's Project Masam Removes 552 Houthi Mines in Yemen
Saudi Arabia Fines Over 400 Foreign Trucks for Regulatory Violations
Saudi National Campaign for Charitable Work Reports Significant Donations in Ramadan
Historic Al-Hosn Al-Asfal Mosque Restored in Asir as Part of National Heritage Initiative
KSrelief Expands Humanitarian Efforts in Syria, Sudan, and Lebanon
Saudi Arabia Advocates for Global Water Cooperation at Forum
Madinah Governor Tours Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah
Saudi Foreign Minister in Cairo to Lead Meeting on Gaza Developments
Recognition of Saudi and Pakistani Entrepreneurs at Riyadh Ceremony
UAE Announces $1.4 Trillion Investment Plan in the United States
Saudi Arabia Innovates in Soil Quality and Water Conservation
Governor of Taif Engages with Rose and Aromatic Plants Cooperative
Saudi Food and Drug Authority Enhances Preparations for Hajj Season
Saudi Arabia Distributes Aid to Yemen and Romania
Restoration of Historic Al-Qalaah Mosque in Riyadh Underlines Heritage Preservation Efforts
Saudi Arabia Arrests Over 25,000 for Immigration Violations in One Week
UAE’s ADQ and Energy Capital Partners Announce $25 Billion Energy Venture in the U.S.
KSrelief Launches Extensive Ramadan Food Aid Initiative
Ramadan Celebrations Revitalize Historic Jeddah
Makkah Authorities Urge Worshippers to Follow Crowd Management Guidelines
Direct Flights Between Dammam and Damascus Reestablished for Syrian Residents
Saudi Main Index Rises to Close at 11,760 Amid Mixed Market Performance
Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch Visits Prophet's Mosque in Madinah
Cultural Development Fund Hosts Third Annual Storytellers Event in Riyadh
×