Russian-occupied Luhansk suffered a drone attack early Friday, Oct. 23, disrupting communications in parts of the city, while Russian forces struck a Ukrainian thermal power plant, forcing it to halt electricity generation.
According to the monitoring channel Exilenova+, explosions were heard in Luhansk at around 4 a.m. The blasts were followed by disruptions to communications and electricity supplies.
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Footage circulating online appears to show an impact on infrastructure near a communications tower. Communications were subsequently lost completely in parts of the occupied city.
The Russian-installed administration has not yet reported the consequences of the attack.
Luhansk has been under Russian occupation since 2014.
The attack follows a series of recent strikes on telecommunications infrastructure in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. On the night of Oct. 21, drones targeted a building belonging to telecommunications operator Lugakom and a telecommunications service center in Luhansk.
On Oct. 20, a data center belonging to Ugletelekom in Russian-occupied Donetsk was also targeted.
Meanwhile, Russian forces attacked one of DTEK’s thermal power plants on Friday, forcing it to stop generating electricity, the company reported. The strike caused significant damage to the plant’s equipment.
DTEK’s thermal power plants have been repeatedly targeted since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to the company, they have come under attack more than 230 times.
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Explosions were also reported overnight in Lutsk and the Rivne region, which faced sustained attacks.
Russian drone attack on Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 176 attack drones from 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22. The drones included Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 92 of which were jet-powered, as well as Gerbera and Parodiya decoy drones.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces responded using aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, air defenses had shot down or suppressed 140 Russian drones, including 68 jet-powered Shahed-type UAVs, as well as Gerbera and other drone types.
“Ten strike drones remain in the air; combat operations are ongoing!” the Air Force said in a report published at 8:04 a.m.
Russian drones were reported to have struck 19 locations, while debris from intercepted UAVs fell at 13 other locations.
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