Millions of Russians face blackouts themselves while Russia destroys Ukraine’s energy system
On July 16, multiple regions in southern Russia and occupied Crimea lost power, following a nuclear plant shutdown and other infrastructure failures, with one incident reportedly having smoke visible above the power plant.
Multiple oblasts in southern Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea experienced widespread power outages on 16 July, according to Russian news agency Novaya Gazeta.
Russia has been attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the start of its full-scale war, leading to the devastation of Ukraine’s power grid, severe blackouts, and energy shortages all across Ukraine.
The blackouts in Russia occurred shortly after an emergency shutdown of a reactor at the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant. Rosenergoatom, the Russian nuclear power station operations subsidiary, stated that it was due to the “activation of protection” but they did not provide further details about the incident, Novaya Gazeta reports.
The power cuts affected major cities in southern Russia, including Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Elista, Anapa, Armavir, Gelendzhik, Novorossiysk, and Stavropol. Some regions experienced disruptions to mobile internet services and public transportation.
On 9 July, Russian authorities reported that drone attacks damaged energy infrastructure in Russia’s Volgograd and Rostov oblasts, causing fires at power substations and transformers.
On the same day, Russian media reported that authorities in Rostov Oblast decided to limit electricity supply to local industrial enterprises to reduce the load on substations and prevent emergency shutdowns.
In Buryatia, a Russian republic in eastern Siberia, approximately 115,000 Russians lost power due to an accident at the Gusinoozerskaya Power Plant. Local media reported that one of the plant’s three power units was disconnected, and smoke was visible above the facility. However, Russian officials did not provide any official comments about the smoke, according to Novaya Gazeta.
Authorities in occupied Crimea attributed the power outages to “anomalous heat.”
Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy systems reduced its generation capacity by 70%, from 36.7 gigawatts to 14 gigawatts. Delays in Western arms deliveries have weakened Ukraine’s air defenses, allowing more successful attacks. Significant aid, totaling $434 million, comes from donors like Germany and the EU, but it falls short of covering the extensive losses.
Related:
- Baltic States to cut ties with Russian energy grid in 2025
- Ukrenergo: Power outages in Ukraine’s seven regions due to Russian air attack on energy grid
- How Ukraine’s power grid survived a winter of Russian energy terror
