Russian drone strikes cause major blackouts in two regions of Ukraine
[January 09, 2026]
By ILLIA NOVIKOV
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drone strikes temporarily knocked out power
to the entire southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine and left more than
600,000 households in the central Dnipropetrovsk region without
electricity, officials said Thursday.
The bombardment occurred against the backdrop of U.S.-led diplomatic
efforts to stop the fighting, nearly four years after Russia invaded its
neighbor.
Ukraine and its Western allies have been working to establish a
framework for a peace settlement, but Moscow has given no public sign it
is willing to compromise.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chided Russia for aiming at
public services in the nighttime attack.
“There is no military rationale for such strikes on energy facilities
and infrastructure that leave people without electricity and heating in
winter conditions,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid since it invaded,
denying civilians heat and running water in a strategy Ukrainian
officials call “weaponizing winter.”
The Zaporizhzhia region, which before the war had a population of around
1.5 million, was left without power for four hours for the first time
since the invasion.
Emergency crews repaired the grid in Zaporizhzhia but in Dnipropetrovsk
there was still no power for hundreds of thousands of people on Thursday
afternoon, private energy company DTEK said.
“It is important that our partners around the world respond to Russia’s
abuse of people,” Zelenskyy said. He has urged countries to exert
greater pressure on Moscow to stop its aggression. In a post on social
media later Thursday, Zelenskyy said there was information that “a new
massive Russian attack may occur tonight,” and he urged people to pay
attention to air alerts in the coming days and to take shelter.
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A couple share a tender moment as they walk on a snowy street in
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, as Ukraine faces harsh
weather amid Russia's regular missile attacks on the country's
energy system. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
An agreement for the United States to provide postwar security
guarantees to Ukraine “is ready to be finalized,” Zelenskyy said,
indicating that he could sign it alongside U.S. President Donald
Trump.
The agreement would help deter any future Russian attack, but only
after a peace deal is reached.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine, the U.S. and European countries are
still discussing postwar reconstruction and development.
Ukraine has presented to U.S. officials possible options for a peace
settlement, and Washington will discuss them with Russia, Zelenskyy
said.
“We’re waiting for a feedback on whether the enemy is truly ready to
end the war,” Zelenskyy added. During the day Thursday, Russia
launched two ballistic missiles on Kryvyi Rih, hitting apartment
buildings and injuring 10 people with one man in critical condition,
according to Oleksandr Vikul, head of the regional military
administration.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said air defenses downed 66
Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the illegally
annexed Crimea, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea.
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