Russian strikes cut power to thousands in Ukraine

Russian strikes cut electricity to thousands of people in Ukraine, Reuters reported on 1 November, and Ukrainian drones damaged a facility inside Russia.

The Reuters report did not say how many people lost power, which regions of Ukraine were affected, or what facility in Russia was damaged. It did not say whether the Russian facility was military or civilian. It also did not give casualty figures for either attack.

The Kyiv Independent reported that a Russian airstrike destroyed the city council building in Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine. The building had survived the 2014 occupation, when pro-Russian separatists seized parts of the Donbas region. The Kyiv Independent did not say whether anyone was killed or injured in the strike, or whether the building was in use at the time.

The reports did not identify the types of drones or aircraft used. Reuters described the Russian attack as strikes and the Ukrainian attack as drones. The Kyiv Independent described the Kramatorsk attack as an airstrike. It did not specify the weapon beyond that description.

Neither report carried immediate statements from the Russian defence ministry or the Ukrainian government. Neither report said how long the power cuts would last or how many people remained without electricity.

Reuters did not say whether the drones were launched by the Ukrainian military or another group.

The strikes are part of the war that began when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kramatorsk is in the Donetsk region, one of the areas that has seen fighting since 2014.