Ukraine has been forced to turn off power in all regions except Donetsk and parts of Chernihiv, the country's energy ministry writes on Telegram.

"Due to the complicated situation in Ukraine's energy system, power has been cut off in all regions," writes the state-owned Ukrenergo, which is responsible for the country's main grid.

Attacks on energy facilities

On Wednesday night, Ukrainian energy infrastructure was attacked in several parts of the country, knocking out electricity in several regions. In Kharkiv, a hospital was also hit and seven people were injured, according to the AP.

"Every day, every night, Russia attacks power plants, power lines and our gas facilities," Volodymyr Zelensky writes on Telegram. according to AP .

Also on October 10, Russia attacked Kyiv with both drones and robots. As a result, large parts of Kiev were left without power and up to a million people were affected.

“The energy infrastructure is once again the target of the enemy’s massive attack,” the country’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook at the time.

Russian strategy

The outages are temporary and come after Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy and gas facilities.

The Russian strategy has been in place since the invasion began in 2022 and aims to knock out Ukraine's electricity supply, thereby depriving civilians of heat and running water during the cold winter.

The risk is that millions of people will be without electricity in the winter cold.

Zelensky's appeal

Ukrainian President Zelensky has appealed for help in deterring Russian long-range attacks. He is due to meet Trump in Washington on Friday, and the conversation is expected to focus on the possibility of obtaining advanced long-range weapons.

Trump has previously warned Putin that he may send Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, which would enable precision strikes deep inside Russia and affect Russian oil production, according to analysts.

Russia has said it would respond forcefully if this were to become a reality.

“We will find ways to harm those who cause us problems,” said Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, according to Reuters.

At the same time, military aid to the country is decreasing. In July and August, it decreased by 43 percent, according to the German Kiel Institute, which monitors aid to Ukraine, reports AP.