As of Sunday, regular emergency blackouts have been implemented in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the region's military administration.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian defense ministry reported that Russia carried out high-precision missile and drone strikes targeting power facilities within the past 24 hours. Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian grid operator, confirmed significant damages to energy infrastructure which require restrictions on electricity consumption in Kharkiv.

"Today Kharkivoblenergo initiated emergency blackouts. These measures are being constantly adjusted due to the challenging power grid conditions in the Kharkiv region," Syniehubov stated on Telegram, noting ongoing efforts to prioritize the restoration of critical infrastructure amid the crisis.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov lamented the extensive destruction, revealing that all power substations and a thermal power plant in the region had been obliterated, leaving the timeline for power restoration uncertain.

Kharkiv is facing critical electricity outage affecting 60% of households. Transportation is disrupted, emergency services resort to speakerphones for air raid alerts. With 1.3 million residents, damage to power system is severe. pic.twitter.com/wiTPa1fKeI

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) March 24, 2024

As tensions escalate, reports emerged of an explosion in the port city of Odesa on Sunday, with subsequent air raid alerts issued in Kharkiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk regions, and the Kiev-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrenergo's Volodymyr Kudrytskyi characterized the recent attacks as the most severe assault on Ukraine's energy system to date, with group strikes targeting thermal and hydroelectric power plants across the country. 

Following the strikes, Nikolaev underground network coordinator Sergei Lebedev informed Sputnik that an attack by Russian forces on targets in Kharkov, including the location of the Lyut assault brigade, killed approximately 30 Ukrainian soldiers. 

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The Russian strikes come a day after Russia's Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev reported that the city's air defense systems had shot down several air targets, noting that over 10 projectiles had been eliminated.

"Air defenses continue to operate. According to preliminary data, several air targets have been shot down," Razvozhayev said on Telegram.

Footage circulated on social media showed 2 explosions erupting in Sevastopol following a strike.

The governor reported that one child was injured by shrapnel as a result of the attack. Another victim is a woman who suffered injuries to her arm.

The night prior, on March 22, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian air defenses intercepted 12 Ukrainian drones over four regions in the early hours of Friday and destroyed them.

"This night, attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks on targets on the territory of the Russian Federation using aircraft-type UAVs were stopped. Air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territories of Bryansk (5 UAVs), Belgorod (5 UAVs), Voronezh (1 UAV) and Saratov (1 UAV) regions," it said in a statement.

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