Kyiv: Russia aims to “deprive people of light and heat” by causing power cuts across eastern Ukraine in revenge for a Ukrainian counter-offensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The blackouts have reportedly affected around nine million people in eastern regions including Kharkiv and Donetsk.
It comes after Ukraine said it had retaken over 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq miles) during a rapid counter-offensive in the east.
The BBC cannot verify these figures.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure left much of his city without power or water.
He called it a vile and cynical attempt at revenge for the Ukrainian army’s recent successes.
Similar problems have been reported in Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions.
In a defiant post on social media after the power cuts, President Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out “terrorist acts” by targeting civilian infrastructure.
“Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as terrible and deadly for us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood’,” he wrote on Telegram.
It comes after a remarkable Ukrainian advance, which if confirmed will mean Ukrainian forces have tripled their territorial gains in little over 48 hours.
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