Russia strikes energy sector again: thousands of homes left without heating and electricity
During the night of 20 January, the Russian army once again carried out a large-scale combined attack on Ukraine, using ballistic missiles and strike drones.
The main target was Kyiv, as well as a number of other regions — Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Rivne regions.
As a result of the shelling, one person was killed, several others were injured, and serious damage was inflicted on energy infrastructure facilities.
In the capital, the main impact was felt on the Left Bank. In the Dniprovskyi district, a multi-storey residential building, a school, and around two dozen cars were damaged by the blast wave.
A 59-year-old woman was injured and hospitalised. Due to the strikes, 5,635 residential buildings were left without heating — nearly 80% of those where heating had recently been restored after the previous attack on 9 January.
In several districts on the Left Bank, water supply was cut off, while on the Right Bank water pressure in the networks dropped significantly.
The Kyiv Metro is operating in a limited mode.
On the Red Line, trains are running only between Akademmistechko and Arsenalna stations at intervals of 4–5 minutes, while trains between Livoberezhna and Arsenalna are operating at longer intervals to transport passengers between the riverbanks.
On the Green Line, trains are running with increased intervals, while the Blue Line is operating as usual.
In the Kyiv region, particularly in the Bucha district, a 50-year-old man was killed. Two petrol stations were damaged. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the enemy struck an enterprise, causing a fire.
Two women aged 76 and 67 were injured. Air defence forces destroyed 40 enemy drones at the regional level, but falling debris and blast waves caused significant destruction.
In the Odesa region, a drone strike hit a multi-storey residential building in Chornomorsk, damaging the façade and shattering windows. Damage was also recorded to an energy facility in the Odesa district.
In the Vinnytsia region, a projectile struck critical infrastructure, with no casualties reported. In the Cherkasy region, air defence forces shot down four missiles and one drone — no damage or casualties were recorded.
More than 10,000 consumers in the Rivne region were left without electricity after infrastructure facilities were damaged. In addition, windows were blown out in several buildings and cars were damaged.
In the Poltava region, strikes on industrial facilities caused large-scale fires, which were promptly extinguished by the State Emergency Service.
Emergency power outages are being introduced in several regions of Ukraine, as the energy system has suffered new damage. Ukrenergo reports that blackout schedules will be restored only after the situation stabilises.
It is worth recalling that a Russian attack damaged 12 houses in Zaporizhzhia.
