Russian attacks killed four people and left hundreds of thousands without power and many without water in Ukraine's Chernihiv region after Moscow's latest salvo in a campaign to break its neighbor's energy system ahead of winter.

Chernihiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Anna Pustyvoi, a war widow in Chernihiv, Ukraine, is among hundreds of thousands affected by a blackout following Russian strikes that severed power and water supplies. She and her young daughter rely on battery-powered lights and a portable battery station, originally purchased by her late husband, to manage daily life without electricity.

The family also contends with frequent air raid alarms and the threat of attack drones, which have caused distress for Anna's daughter. Local authorities state that the strikes are intended to deprive residents of power and heat as winter approaches. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion, claiming these facilities are legitimate military objectives.

Ukrainian war widow faces Chernihiv blackout after strikes

In a dark flat in Chernihiv, Ukrainian war widow Anna Pustyvoi watches her three-year-old daughter play with a battery-powered light. She points it at a photo of her late father Volodymyr, who was killed in the war with Russia last year. Hundreds of thousands in the Chernihiv region, including Anna and her daughters, are facing a full blackout after Russian strikes severed power and water supplies on Tuesday. If there is no light, we turn it on in this room. And my daughter also has one that runs on batteries. We have one on the table. We hang it like that. Although you could hang it higher on the chandelier. It's more convenient. It covers the room more. Electricity was switched off for a day. It was on for a couple of hours and that's it. And here we are, sitting with flashlights. We had a large portable battery station. But it ran out. We found a place to charge it. It's being charged right now. The portable battery station was bought by her husband, Volodymyr, before his death. Volodymyr bought it for us just before he died. We had blackouts then, too. I argued with him about it. But now I am very grateful to him. At least it lasts 10 hours, even 11. It powers the Internet and light. We can't connect anything else to it. It's not powerful enough. Yes, it's very difficult without him, even though he served in the army. But he was always supporting us. And now there are only three of us left. That's it. Aside from the power and water supply problem, Anna's family also deals with frequent air raid alarms. There are Russian attack drones flying above the buildings, at the level of the ninth floor. Today my child woke up in the middle of the night, covering her ears, because the buzzing is really scary. She covers her ears and screams, mama. Everything you can think of is flying in our direction. Our military has nothing to shoot these things down. Chernigov's acting mayor, Alexander Lomako, said Moscow was seeking to deprive local residents of power and heat ahead of the cold winter. Russia has consistently hit Ukrainian energy facilities since launching a full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine, maintaining that they are a legitimate military target in war. I want it all to end, but we see that it is only getting worse and worse. There is no light, no water, no heat, no place to stay warm. Everyone that has the opportunity to go to the village or relatives there do so. But otherwise, you have to buy a house in the village. With what money? And even then, there's no electricity and a lot of things don't work.

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Ukrainian war widow faces Chernihiv blackout after strikes

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Ukraine Invasion