KYIV (AP) — Russia launched a new series of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine over the weekend, causing widespread blackouts across multiple regions according to Ukrainian officials. Power outages disrupted daily life and railway traffic in several areas.

The strikes began Saturday morning and targeted energy infrastructure specifically. “This is the first time that such an attack has been conducted on our capital,” said Oleksandr Pokudai, head of the state emergency service.

In Fastov, around 70km southwest of Kyiv, a Ukrainian railway official reported damage to rail infrastructure forcing train rerouting and disrupting transport routes. The city of Chernigov near the Russian border also experienced power outages from an attack on critical infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in Novye Petrovtsi, officials linked a fire at a 5,500-square-meter warehouse building to debris falling onto it after a downed drone impacted nearby areas.

Social media images showed smoke rising above Lutsk following reports of blackouts there. The mayor of the region confirmed a significant power outage but avoided mentioning Russian involvement directly.

Kadyrov Vows Revenge After Ukrainian Attack on Grozny

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov strongly condemned a recent Ukrainian drone attack on a high-rise business center in Grozny, his hometown. “This is an open terrorist act,” the Kremlin-backed outlet Zelenodolsk-Info quoted him as saying.

Kadyrov declared that Russia would respond firmly against Ukraine’s military infrastructure: “We will hit their positions with all our might… But unlike them, we won’t carry out cowardly attacks on civilian sites. Our targets are exclusively military terrorist facilities.”

Russia Claims Right to Strike Ukrainian Energy Infrastructure

Moscow announced the missile strikes as a direct response for an earlier Ukrainian drone attack on residential premises in Grozny that killed civilians. Russia maintains it is targeting solely military installations, while accusing Kiev of launching “terrorist” attacks against Russian settlements.

The overnight barrage followed an attack on a high-rise business center in Grozny, where Kadyrov called the action an act of aggression and urged citizens to join his call for solidarity with Moscow’s position.