Updated: Technical malfunction leads to large-scale power outages in Ukraine's south

Editor's note: The article was updated with a statement from Ukrenergo

The southern city of Kherson has completely lost electricity, Roman Mrochko, the city's military administration head, said on Oct. 16.

"According to preliminary information, the entire city was cut off. The reasons are being determined," Mrochko said on Telegram.

The same morning, power outages were reported in Mykolaiv Oblast, which is neighboring Kherson Oblast.

"Many people have lost electricity. We identified the source. There was no strike. We will fix it in a couple of hours if there are no further surprises," Governor Vitalii Kim said.

Ukraine's state-owned energy company Ukrenergo said later during the day that the outages were caused by unspecified "technical reasons" and that the repairs are underway. The energy supply should resume "within hours."

While the officials did not link the recent outages to Russian strikes, cities and villages across Ukraine have experienced regular blackouts as a result of attacks against the energy grid during the full-scale war.

Russia launched over 130 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine overnight on Oct. 16, in addition to missiles and other weaponry. Both Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts suffered attacks.

Kyiv recently warned that Russia is likely to resume its attacks against the power grid in the coming autumn and winter months, mimicking the strategy employed in the autumn-winter season of 2022-2023 and this year's spring.

Russia may resume strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector in autumn, winter, official warns

“With the start of the ‘heating season,’ we can expect massive Russian strikes on the energy sector,” said Oleksandr Lytvynenko, National Security and Defense Council Secretary.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova