Ukraine is working to restore electricity in its northern regions after fresh Russian drone and rocket attacks targeted key energy infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said late on October 2 that supply had been restored in Sumy, near the Russian border, but efforts were still ongoing in Chernihiv where more than 300,000 residents were left in darkness following heavy shelling. “The enemy continues to purposefully hit the energy infrastructure. We are working to protect the system from new threats,” she wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported 133 combat clashes across the front on October 2, with fighting concentrated in Pokrovsk, a strategic city that controls vital road and rail junctions. Once home to more than 60,000 people, Pokrovsk’s population has dwindled to about 7,000 and faces the threat of encirclement. Officials said Russian units attempted 36 assaults in the direction of Pokrovsk but were repelled with heavy losses.
Russia launched 47 air strikes and dropped 115 guided bombs during the day, in addition to deploying hundreds of drones, the military added. Moscow claimed its troops had entered Pokrovsk, but Kyiv denied the assertion.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, warned Washington against supplying long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, calling such a move “a qualitatively new stage of escalation” in U.S.-Russia relations. A drone alert was issued in Sochi shortly after his remarks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed Western allies to bolster Kyiv’s defenses, urging European leaders to prepare for potential Russian drone incursions across the continent. Addressing a security summit in Copenhagen, he warned: “If the Russians dare to launch drones against Poland, or violate the airspace of northern European countries, it means this can happen anywhere.”
Separately, Ukraine and Russia carried out another prisoner exchange on October 2. Kyiv said 185 Ukrainians, including 20 civilians, had returned home. Zelenskyy posted images of the freed men draped in national flags, praising them as “our defenders.” Moscow confirmed a similar number of Russian personnel were also released.
The strikes on Ukraine’s power grid come as the country braces for the onset of winter, with officials warning that sustained attacks on energy infrastructure could leave millions vulnerable in the months ahead.
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