Kyiv: Over 500 localities in Ukraine have lost power after Russia attacked the electric grid for weeks. Deputy interior minister Yevgueny Yenin said the Kharkiv region is the worst hit with 112 isolated villages.
"The enemy continues to attack the country's essential infrastructure. Currently, 507 localities in eight regions of our country are cut off from electricity supplies," he said on Ukrainian TV. In the Donetsk and Kherson regions, 90 villages are without power. Other regions that lost electricity are Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Lugansk, reported AFP.
Civilians are struggling with early winter conditions amid regular power outages. Millions of Ukrainians are without heat or lighting when outside temperatures have dropped below zero Celsius.
Moscow is likely to carry out further strikes on the power grid.
Private Ukrainian energy operator DTEK said around 50% of the country's electricity grid remains damaged after Russia began targeting Ukrainian energy facilities in October. Ukrainian authorities are urging people to bear the cold amid Russia's relentless attacks.
Kyiv also accused Russia of scattering thousands of landmines across the Donetsk region to pose a threat to people trying to return to their communities. Russian security officials recently met with their Iranian counterparts in Tehran to discuss their unspecified military cooperation. It is being considered a sign of deepening ties between the two nations, reported Al Jazeera.