Russia damages power plant in Mykolaiv, leaving 100,000 without heat, Kyiv says

A Russian airstrike on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv overnight damaged the local thermal power plant, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. 100,000 people are without heat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram, reporting an attack on the city's critical infrastructure. Shmyhal had earlier said that 46,000 customers were without heat.

According to the prime minister, the Russian drone attack on the city's thermal power plant was deliberate and aimed at causing a humanitarian catastrophe in sub-zero temperatures. “At the moment, 46,000 customers are without heat,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.

Zelenskyy later wrote that more than 100,000 people were without heat. “An ordinary Ukrainian city, ordinary civilian infrastructure. This has nothing to do with fighting or the situation at the front,” the president said, adding: “This proves once again that the Russians are fighting against our people, against life in Ukraine…. This is not what those who truly want peace restored and are preparing for negotiations do.”

The relevant services are working to restore heat supplies, first and foremost to schools, hospitals and homes. Three modular boiler plants are to be brought online, the prime minister added.

Vitaliy Kim, head of Mykolaiv Oblast, had earlier said that the city had faced a massive Russian drone attack overnight, with an unspecified key infrastructure facility hit. A fire broke out there, which firefighters quickly extinguished. Five residential buildings and other facilities were also damaged. One person was taken to hospital with injuries; their condition is satisfactory.