Russian strikes
have caused widespread power outages and water supply disruptions in northern
Ukraine
, while
civilian casualties
escalated in the country’s eastern region, according to Ukrainian authorities on Saturday.
In the
Sumy region
, which shares a border with Russia, Russian strikes late Friday damaged energy infrastructure, leaving over 100,000 households without electricity, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry reported.
Subsequently, Russian drones targeted the city of Sumy, hitting power lines that supply the water pumping system, resulting in a water supply cut-off, as stated by the Ukrainian public broadcaster.
RIA, a Russian state agency, cited a local pro-Kremlin “underground” leader claiming that Moscow’s forces attacked a
rocket ammunition
plant in Sumy overnight.
However, the weapon used was not specified, and the claim remains unverified. Ukrainian media reported explosions in the city during an early Saturday air raid warning.
In the eastern
Donetsk region
, Russian shelling on Friday and overnight claimed the lives of 11 civilians and injured 43, as reported by local Gov. Vadym Filashkin on Saturday. Selydove, a town southeast of Pokrovsk, saw five fatalities, while Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town reduced to rubble by a month-long Russian assault, lost three more civilians.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported 45 clashes between Ukrainian and
Russian forces
near Pokrovsk over the previous day. The Russian Ministry of Defense later announced the capture of a village approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of the city.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian service members gathered on Saturday to pay their respects to Peter Fouché, a British combat medic who founded a charity that delivered essential supplies to front-line fighters. Fouche died at the frontline last Thursday during a clash with Russian troops, according to Project Konstantin, a volunteer group he co-founded.
The farewell ceremony took place at Kyiv’s Independence Square, where mourners read prayers and held up Ukrainian flags and military banners. Fouche’s partner and Halyna Zhuk, co-founder of Project Konstantin, paid tribute to the fallen medic, calling him a “true hero,” reported news agency AP.
“Every time he went into battle, I would see him off with the words, ‘Thank you, my protector.’ And today, I can only repeat it: thank you, my protector,” she was quoted as saying by AP.
