'Targeted attack' — Tens of thousands without power in Zaporizhzhia as Russia hammers region's energy system
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Russian attacks on Feb. 4 left over 53,000 households without power in the city of Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
The governor's report follows a day of strikes on the region and a mass attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure the previous night that caused "some of the worst damage we have seen" during the full-scale war, according to authorities.
"The Russians are conducting a targeted attack on Zaporizhzhia and the region all day long," Fedorov said late in the evening on Feb. 4.
"As a result of the attacks, over 53,000 subscribers on the right bank of Zaporizhzhia and partially in the Zaporizhia district are without electricity."
The temperature in Zaporizhzhia is currently -8 degrees Celsius (17 degrees Fahrenheit).
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The southern city of Zaporizhzhia, home to approximately 710,000 residents before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, is regular target of Russian attacks. Strikes have only intensified as Russia ramps up its offensive in southern Ukraine and its assault on the country's power grid.
Zaporizhzhia Oblast has suffered from region-wide blackouts multiple times in January due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
The latest series of strikes on the region come amid ongoing peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States in Abu Dhabi. Before the negotiations began on Feb. 4, Russia launched the biggest mass attack of the winter so far on Feb. 3, targeting Ukraine's thermal power plants.
U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier announced on Jan. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally promised him not to bomb Ukrainian cities for a period of one week, as a show of good faith ahead of negotiations. The Kremlin then claimed the brief truce would end on Feb. 1.
Instead of condemning Russia for launching a mass attack on the eve of peace talks, Trump said that Putin "kept his word."
Trilateral negotiations will resume in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 5.
