Power outages were reported in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast and the city of Oryol following missile strikes that allegedly hit energy infrastructure, including substations and thermal power plants, Russian media and local Telegram channels said.
According to Russian outlets, Belgorod and nearby settlements were left without electricity after an air raid alert and subsequent missile attack. Local public channels reported strikes on substations and a thermal power plant, triggering a citywide blackout.
A missile strike in Belgorod hit the Storozhevaya substation. Other energy infrastructure nodes were likely damaged as well. The entire city has lost electrical power.
Similar reports emerged from Oryol, where residents said explosions were heard near a thermal power plant. Russian Telegram channels reported problems with electricity and water supply following the alleged strike.
“Explosions were reported in the area of the thermal power plant, with outages of electricity,” one local channel said, while another reported that the plant itself was under attack.
Russian authorities have not issued an official statement confirming the reported damage.
At the same time Russia launched a massive, combined aerial assault on Ukraine overnight on Friday, Jan. 9, firing waves of attack drones and ballistic missiles – most of them aimed at the capital, Kyiv.
At least 4 people were killed and 24 injured in the assault, including a medical worker and emergency responders, after Russian strikes hit residential neighborhoods and critical infrastructure.
Twenty residential buildings in Kyiv and its suburbs were damaged, and the Embassy of Qatar was hit by a Russian drone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday
Emergency services reported widespread outages, with heating and water disruptions affecting almost all city districts.
The strikes came as temperatures in Kyiv plunged to minus-9°C (16°F) overnight, sharply increasing the risk to civilians left without heat or power in midwinter.