Russia's Kursk, Belgorod, Novgorod, and 5 more regions have no gas and electricity - RFU News

[TexasTowelie]

Today, there is interesting news from the Russian Federation.

Here, after months of Russian officials bragging about destroying Ukrainian energy facilities, the war has turned full circle. Russia is now tasting its own medicine, as massive Ukrainian retaliation strikes on critical energy infrastructure have plunged entire Russian regions into darkness.

In Belgorod, chaos reigns, and what Russia inflicted on Ukraine in previous winters is now being inflicted on Russia itself, and this time, it is Moscow declaring a national emergency. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov urged residents to find alternative power sources and rely on generators after Ukrainian missiles and drones wiped out the city’s main power systems. But the order borders on absurdity: due to Russia’s worsening fuel crisis, local authorities have simultaneously prohibited citizens from filling jerry cans with gasoline, the very fuel these generators run on. Panic spread quickly as residents realized there was no backup plan or realistic solution coming from the government. Gas stations were ordered to conserve supplies for critical infrastructure only, leaving civilians trapped in the dark.

The crisis began after a wave of Ukrainian strikes against Belgorod’s energy network, locals reported loud explosions followed by immediate blackouts, as Ukrainian drones first hit key transformers throughout the city. Within hours, another barrage hit the Belgorod thermal power plant, leaving 40,000 people without electricity. Footage shows the Luch power substation engulfed in flames, with emergency services unable to contain the fire. Kursk region soon followed, as Ukrainian drones hit transmission lines, causing widespread outages. Ukrainian official Andriy Kovalenko confirmed both Belgorod and Kursk were without power, as the Russians just received what they were looking for.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned for weeks that if Russia resumed its winter terror campaign on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukraine would strike back in kind and Russians would feel the same in their cities, even if it meant blackouts in Moscow itself. The Russian military and political command ignored the warning, and now the results are evident. Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff Andriy Hnatov reinforced the message, stating that Ukraine will find the means and the weapons to carry out proportional retaliation, regardless of distance or Russian air defenses.

The Ukrainian counterstrikes didn’t stop at the border. For several consecutive nights, Ukrainian drones and missiles hit power facilities deep inside Russia, demonstrating both reach and precision. In Bryansk region’s Klintsy, a thermal power plant erupted in flames after a combined strike, the explosion captured by locals and shared widely online. In the Vladimir region, a 750 kilovolt substation, a critical node in central Russia’s energy grid, was disabled. In Ulyanovsk, the 500 kilovolt Veshkama substation was struck by multiple drones, causing cascading power failures across the region. The attack on Samara’s Kinel-Cherkasy substation followed, knocking out another major link in Russia’s interconnected grid. Hours later, Volgograd’s Balashovkaya substation went up in flames, disrupting the power transfer from the Volzhskaya hydroelectric station.

The strikes reached as far as Nizhny Novgorod, where six Ukrainian long-range drones reportedly hit a key energy facility, cutting power to over 200,000 residents and shutting down industrial zones, with even mobile phone networks collapsing. When the region’s governor called the communications and electricity blackout a healthy detox, residents responded with fury, accusing local authorities of lying and avoiding the problem while their homes froze and their businesses shut down. Moscow’s official line is denial, yet the scale of damage is undeniable. Emergency crews are stretched thin, fires rage across several substations, and the power grid is fragmented under sustained pressure. With the first snow falling, many regions are facing rolling blackouts, and local governments have begun rationing electricity to critical infrastructure only.

Overall, Ukraine's message is clear, and for every blackout Russia causes, it will face one at home. This winter, the tables have turned, as Ukrainian domestically produced long-range drones and missiles are now able to strike hundreds of kilometers into Russian territory, with a precision and consistency it did not have in previous years. After months of ignoring warnings, Russia is now forced to experience what it once weaponized: darkness, cold, and fear. As Russian officials declare an energy emergency and struggle to restore power, Ukraine has transformed from a victim of energy terror into a master of retaliation. The lights may be out...

[BWdem4life]

1. What comes around goes around.

Ukraine will never give up.

[niyad]

2. Slava Ukraini. Thank you for the update. May all those who cheered

and supported the illegal, unjust, immoral, genocidal attack on Ukraine. . .oooops.