Russian forces launched drone strikes targeted on critical infrastructure in the northern Ukrainian towns of Chernihiv and Nizhyn on Thursday, Sept. 25, disrupting electricity and water supplies for tens of thousands of residents.
At around 1 pm, the Ukrainian Air Force warned that drones were threatening Chernihiv, urging residents to take cover. An hour later, officials repeated the warning, and by 2.30 the head of Chernihiv’s City Military Administration (KMVA), Dmytro Bryzhinsky, confirmed via Telegram the city was under attack.
“The enemy is attacking the city’s critical infrastructure. Stay in safe places,” Bryzhinsky said.
The local water utility company, Chernihivvodokanal, advised residents to stock up on water.
Earlier in the day, Nizhyn also in the Chernihiv region also came under attack. Mayor Oleksandr Kodola reported 14 drone strikes between 7.20 and 7.45 a.m. While some failed to detonate, others set an infrastructure facility outside the city on fire.
Around 30,000 people were left without power, though no injuries were reported.
“All services will move to the site once the situation stabilizes, because there have already been unfortunate cases when the enemy strikes again,” Kodola said.
Water and electricity in the city are now being serviced with generators that offer limited supply hours.
The monitoring channel Nikolaevsky Vanek, linked to a senior Ukrainian official, sharply criticized the lack of defenses in the area:
“Chernihiv is under attack again, and there is no countermeasure in almost the entire region. Who should react so that such situations don’t happen again, and someone finally takes up countermeasures against drones in the Chernihiv region?”
Russian forces continue to target Chernihiv and the surrounding region with drones and missiles. Just a day earlier, according to a Ground Forces’ report two ballistic missiles struck a training ground within the region, killing and wounding an undisclosed number of troops.
“Due to a precise hit on the shelter, despite the security measures taken, unfortunately, it was not possible to completely avoid losses among personnel,” the statement read.
The report did not disclose the location, but the Nikolaevsky Vanek Telegram channel reported drones heading towards Honcharivske in the Chernihiv region, home to the 242nd Combined Arms Training Ground at the time.
The channel later lashed out at local defense efforts:
“Some kind of f***ing s*** winds a circle over Chernihiv, and we lose personnel on the spot. Not the first time, not twice, or even three times. And don’t even think about telling me that your ‘personnel are to blame’ again.”
There have been several Russian strikes on Ukrainian training sites this year. On Aug. 12, a missile killed one soldier and wounded 11, on another undisclosed site, while dozens suffered stress and hearing trauma.
Previous attacks in July, June, and earlier in the year caused dozens more casualties, including a June 1 strike that killed 12 and injured over 60, prompting the resignation of the Ground Forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty.