Russia strike cuts power to 12,000 in Chernihiv

Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in northeastern Ukraine overnight, leaving thousands without electricity and raising fresh concerns over ceasefire violations.

Officials said the attack hit Chernihiv Oblast late on April 12, damaging a key energy facility and cutting power to around 12,000 subscribers, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The regional energy provider reported the outage, adding that emergency crews will begin repairs as soon as the security situation allows.

The timing of the strike suggests a possible breach of the Orthodox Easter ceasefire, which Russia had announced would last through April 12.

According to Ukraine’s military, Russian forces have already violated the truce thousands of times, casting doubt on its effectiveness.

Located near Ukraine’s northern border, Chernihiv Oblast has been frequently targeted by Russian drone and missile strikes since the start of the war.

Attacks on energy infrastructure have become a central tactic, often leaving civilians without:

• Electricity
• Heating
• Water

Rolling blackouts have become common across the country, especially during winter months.

Earlier this year, Volodymyr Zelensky declared a state of emergency in the energy sector after large-scale strikes left major cities struggling with outages in freezing temperatures.

Ukraine has repeatedly called for a halt to attacks on critical infrastructure. In recent days, Kyiv proposed an energy ceasefire through U.S. intermediaries, offering to reciprocate if Russia halted its strikes.

So far, Moscow has not agreed to the proposal.

Local officials have not disclosed the exact location of the latest strike or the full extent of the damage. Restoration efforts remain on hold due to ongoing security risks in the area.

For residents of Chernihiv, the latest attack adds to growing uncertainty as infrastructure remains vulnerable and outages continue.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada