Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have left Kharkiv with a “total” power outage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, after reports of “significant gains” by his forces in a regional counter-offensive.
Donetsk has also lost all power, the president tweeted, while Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions are struggling with partial blackouts.
Kharkiv also appeared to be under a total blackout, with no visible light in the city.
Cars drove down pitch-black streets, and the rare occasional pedestrian used a torch or cell phone to light their way.
On its western outskirts, a fire broke out at a power plant, reportedly in a strike, billowing smoke lit by the orange glow of the flames.
Kharkiv Governor Olegh Synehubov added that the strikes had left several population centers in his northeastern region without water supplies.
“Fires have broken out where these attacks took place and emergency crews … are containing the flames,” he wrote on Telegram.
In Sumy, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky has urged residents to unplug electrical devices after power levels drop.
The attacks come after the UK Ministry of Defense said Russia had likely withdrawn units from two front-line positions, following a shocking advance by Ukrainian forces in the past four days.
“Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have continued to make significant gains in the Kharkiv region,” the Defense Ministry said on Twitter on Sunday.
A jubilant Mr Zelenskyy mocked the Russian military in his late-night speech, claiming it was doing “the best thing it can do: showing its back”.
“And of course it’s a good decision that they’re coming forward,” he said, adding that Ukraine had liberated about 2,000 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of September.
He was defiant about the blackouts, telling Russia: “History will put everything in its place. And we will be with gas, electricity, water and food… and without you!”
Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said earlier that troops from the cities of Balakliia and Izyum were “regrouping” in the Donetsk region, part of Donbas.
While Ukraine has regained territory in the Kharkiv region, the country’s second largest city, fighting continues around Kupiansk and Izyum, both strategically important cities.
Images from the Kharkiv region show vehicles and checkpoints abandoned by Russian soldiers.
Image: Vehicles abandoned by Russian soldiers. Photo: Press Service of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Reuters
Izyum was captured by Russia at the start of the war and has remained under their control ever since.
Ukrainian flags have been seen in towns, villages and cities in the eastern region.
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0:28 Zelensky: Russian army “shows its back”
The final reactor at the Zaporizhzhia plant was shut down
In southern Ukraine, officials were able to shut down the last reactor at the Zaporizhzhia power plant after it was reconnected to the power grid.
The six-reactor plant, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, had all power lines cut last week due to shelling in the area.
Energoatom, Ukraine’s atomic power operator, said one of the power lines was restored late Saturday, allowing plant operators to shut down the last reactor.
Although both sides accuse each other of bombing near the plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the early stages of the war, the fighting around it has raised concerns of a nuclear disaster.