Massive blackout occurred in occupied territories after UAV attack
On the night of August 28, large-scale power outages occurred in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts. Before that, there were reports of a drone attack on the city of Shchastia in Luhansk Oblast and a fire at the local thermal power plant.
This is reported by the independent Russian publication Astra, citing local residents and messages in regional Telegram channels. The monitoring channel Exilenova+ also reported a complete blackout in the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts after the UAV attack.
According to Astra's sources, a thermal power plant in occupied Shchastia caught fire after a drone strike. A photo appeared online, allegedly showing the fire at the TPP, but Astra separately emphasized that it could not verify this image.
Shortly after reports of the attack, information about power outages began to come from various occupied areas. According to Astra, outages were recorded in the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson Oblasts not controlled by Ukraine.
In occupied Donetsk, judging by reports from local resources, electricity disappeared at approximately one o'clock in the morning on August 28. The Russia-appointed head of the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, Denis Pushilin, did not publicly comment on the attack or its consequences at that time.
Local resources began reporting the drone danger as early as around 9:00 PM on August 27. Around midnight, numerous reports of power outages began appearing on social media, particularly from the occupied territories of Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson Oblasts.
At the same time, local channels emphasized that at that moment there was no official information about the causes and scale of the accident. Around four in the morning, according to Astra, power supply began to be restored in part of the territories.
Who exactly carried out the drone attack is not specified in the reports. There were no official statements from the Ukrainian side about a strike on the TPP in Shchastia at the time the information appeared.
Based on materials from: Astra, Exilenova+
