Russian air strikes on the power grid left more than 850,000 consumers without electricity across the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, according to regional reports. The strikes hit as American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin.
Why it matters
The blackouts are a reminder that the war has not paused for the diplomacy. The Abu Dhabi talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without progress on a ceasefire, although they did produce a large scale prisoner exchange agreement. The envoys are now trying to keep the conversation going, but the strikes continue.
The power grid has been a target throughout the war, and the latest strikes follow the same pattern. Hitting electricity in November, as winter approaches, puts pressure on civilians as well as on the military. The regional reports did not give a timeline for restoring power to the affected areas.
What happens next
The Moscow visit is the next step in the shuttle. After meeting Putin, the envoys are expected to fly to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The sequence shows Washington trying to keep both sides talking even as the fighting continues and the diplomatic gaps stay wide.
For now, the two tracks run in parallel. The talks produce prisoner exchanges and the strikes produce blackouts, and neither track has yet changed the other. What happens next will be decided first in Moscow and then in Dublin.
The power grid has been a target throughout the war, and the latest strikes follow the same pattern. Hitting electricity in November, as winter approaches, puts pressure on civilians as well as on the military, and the regional reports did not give a timeline for restoring power. The Moscow visit is the next step in the shuttle, with the envoys expected to fly to Dublin to brief Zelenskyy after meeting Putin. The two tracks run in parallel: the talks produce prisoner exchanges and the strikes produce blackouts, and neither track has yet changed the other. The envoys will carry whatever they hear in Moscow to Zelenskyy in Dublin next.
