The Russian Federation continues to carry out attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing new power supply disruptions in several regions. According to the operator Ukrenergo, new outages were recorded in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions this morning due to drone strikes and artillery shelling. In regions where security conditions allow, emergency recovery work has already begun.
This is reported by Finway
Consumption Restrictions and Increased Load on the Energy System
The situation in Ukraine’s energy system remains complicated due to previous Russian attacks. Measures to limit electricity consumption are in effect across all regions of the country, including hourly outages for consumers from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM implemented today. According to Ukrenergo, electricity consumption levels increased by 4.9% compared to the previous day as of Thursday morning.
“As a result of drone strikes and artillery shelling, there are new outages in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions this morning. Emergency recovery work is already underway wherever security conditions permit.”
The reasons for the increased consumption include the prevalence of cold and cloudy weather in Ukraine, which reduces the efficiency of household solar power plants. In this regard, Ukrenergo urges citizens to use electricity as sparingly as possible, especially during evening hours from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and not to turn on several powerful electrical appliances simultaneously.
Consequences of Russian Attacks and Ukraine’s Response
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has systematically shelled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Since the fall of 2025, the scale of attacks from Russia has increased, leading to electricity shortages and prolonged outages in many regions. With the arrival of spring, thanks to increased generation from solar power plants, some restrictions have been partially eased.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized on March 24 that Russian troops continue to attempt to break the Ukrainian energy system. The Security Service of Ukraine considers the Russian strikes on energy facilities to be crimes against humanity. It is known that since the beginning of the 2025–2026 heating season, the SBU has documented at least 256 aerial attacks on the country’s energy facilities and heating supply systems.
In early February 2026, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Russia supposedly does not attack civilian objects, and that Ukraine was the first to strike at Russian energy facilities. At the same time, on April 6, President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Ukraine is ready to cease strikes on Russian oil refining and oil export infrastructure, provided that Russia refrains from attacking Ukraine’s energy sector; however, the Russian side did not support a ceasefire.