Hundreds of thousands of residents in the Moscow region have been left without electricity and heat during a severe winter blackout, coinciding with a major wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital.
Widespread Power Failure and Drone Assault
The crisis began as over 100,000 residents in the districts of Ramensky, Zhukovsky, and Lytkarino lost power, according to the Russian energy firm PAO Rosseti. However, figures reported on social media and by Ukrainian officials suggest the scale is far larger, with estimates ranging up to 600,000 people affected for more than four hours.
Iuliia Mendel, former press secretary to President Volodymyr Zelensky, stated the blackout led to "total isolation", with no electricity or mobile signal. The outage occurred as Russian air defence units engaged what was described as a "large swarm" of Ukrainian drones targeting the capital.
Official Responses and Conflicting Accounts
Russian authorities offered conflicting explanations for the power failure. The official line cited an automatic shutdown at a high-voltage electricity substation. Meanwhile, the defence ministry reported destroying 27 Ukrainian drones in a three-hour period starting at 8pm local time, with 21 downed over the Moscow region alone.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, confirmed on Telegram that one civilian was injured in the attacks. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin acknowledged that several unmanned aerial vehicles had been intercepted. The strikes and blackout reportedly forced some airports to suspend operations.
Winter Crisis and Emergency Response
The attacks struck during a harsh winter, with streets covered in thick snow and freezing temperatures. Emergency services were seen deploying mobile generators on large trucks to darkened districts in an effort to restore critical power. Social media footage showed entire tower blocks and street lamps without light.
Some reports indicated this marked the first instance where parts of Moscow lost power as a direct consequence of a Ukrainian strike, representing a significant escalation in the nearly four-year-long conflict.
Broader Political Context and Statements
The drone offensive came just a day after Russia accused Ukraine, without providing evidence, of attempting to target President Vladimir Putin's residence—a claim Kyiv dismissed as baseless. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the occasion to reiterate his willingness to meet with Putin, stating, "I am ready for any format of meeting."
Zelensky also revealed on Tuesday that Kyiv and Washington are discussing the possibility of US boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of ongoing security guarantee negotiations, highlighting the international dimensions of the war.
