Power cuts hit occupied Donetsk, Kherson region and Crimea after drone attacks. Putin attempted to promote a facade of stability in his speech to the United Russia Party Congress, ISW says. Russian aerial attacks on the cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv region kill 10 and injure dozens.
Power cuts hit occupied Donetsk, Kherson region and Crimea after drone attacks
Massive power outages hit the occupied parts of Kherson region, Crimea and the city of Donetsk following drone attacks overnight on Monday, Ukrainian news site Novynarnya said, citing Telegram channels and Russian-installed governor of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo.
Multiple explosions were reported in Crimea’s Sevastopol and Kerch.
A power substation was likely damaged near the village of Nekrasivka in the peninsula’s Bakhchysaray district, Telegram channel Crimean Wind (Krymskyi Veter) said, citing an eyewitness account by a local resident. The village experienced a power cut.
A fire erupted at the Maryanivka power substation in the same-name village of Crimea’s Kurman district. The facility is key to transmission and distribution of electricity in the area.
An overnight drone attack caused a fire in the city of Melitopol, in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region.
Power was lost in Donetsk at around midnight on Monday. “All districts of Kherson region fully or partially lost power,” Russian-installed governor of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo said on Telegram Monday.
Putin promoting facade of stability in speech to United Russia Party Congress, ISW says
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his speech to the ruling United Russia Party Congress on June 28 to project Russia’s strength, reinforce his resolve to achieve Russia’s objectives militarily, and reject diplomatic solutions to end his war in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an update on Sunday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the report.
Putin claimed that Russia maintains sufficient strength, resources, and political will to resist external actors’ attempts to restrain Russia’s development. Putin claimed that the West cannot strategically defeat Russia and cannot win on the battlefield.
Putin alleged that Ukrainian forces are retreating along the entire frontline. Putin emphasized that Russia is ready to fight for its core interests and that it is the duty of the United Russia Party to do everything possible to ensure Russian victory. Putin claimed that Russia has always been strong and won due to its national unity and that all Russians support Russian forces on the frontlines.
Putin’s June 28 speech is only the latest attempt from the Kremlin to frame a Russian military victory in Ukraine as inevitable and the Ukrainian front as on the verge of collapsing. The Kremlin continues to resort to such rhetorical lines to try to influence the West and Ukraine to give in to Russia’s demands, particularly as Russia’s battlefield performance continues to decline in 2026 and Russia’s ability to seize its objectives militarily is in question.
Putin vaguely acknowledged the effects that Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign is having on Russia but attempted to dismiss concerns and promote a facade of stability. Putin stated that Russia is going through a “difficult” and “fateful” time and that the Kremlin is aware of and responding to all problems related to external attempts to restrain Russia’s development. Putin claimed that Ukraine is conducting “terrorist attacks” against Russian infrastructure — likely referring to Ukrainian strikes against Russian assets, including oil infrastructure. Putin reassured the Russian public that the Kremlin is taking appropriate measures to address Russia’s economic challenges and will ensure the security of Russia and Russian citizens. Putin claimed that Russia will fully implement its strategically significant development programs even as the Kremlin has to adjust some plans based on the “current situation.”
Putin specifically claimed that the Kremlin will fulfill all its social obligations, likely to assuage concerns that the externalities caused by the war may impact social spending. Putin did not explicitly discuss Ukraine’s strike campaign against Russia or the wide-scale gasoline shortages experienced across the entire country, but Putin is likely subtly trying to portray himself as cognizant of the economic and social struggles Russia is facing.
In other news, a growing dissatisfaction with the perceived helplessness of the Kremlin in the face of Ukrainian attacks has sent Mr. Putin’s approval ratings falling, even according to Russian state-affiliated pollsters, The New York Times said on June 26. A survey by the pollster FOM, published on Friday, found the Russian leader’s approval hitting its lowest level since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Weeks of intense strikes by Ukraine have rattled everyday life in Crimea. Russian-installed authorities declared a state of emergency on Friday after weeks of intense air attacks. This has made Putin’s approval ratings dip even lower.
Russian aerial attacks on cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv region kill 10, injure dozens
A Russian missile strike on the city of Dnipro on Monday killed six people and injured 29 others, head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha said in a post to social media. At least five people were in serious condition, these were men ages 22, 33, 54, 58 and 59. A private enterprise was targeted.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had launched 108 drones of various types toward Ukraine overnight on Monday. These were Shahed, Gerbera and Italmas unmanned aerial systems as well as Parodiya decoy drones.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down or otherwise neutralized 82 drones in the north, south and east of the country. Twenty-five drones hit target in 11 locations. Drone debris fell in four other sites, the Air Force added.
Russia struck the village of Zadonetske in the Chuhuyiv district of Kharkiv region with a Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system on Sunday evening. One person was killed and eight others injured, including two children, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, Oleh Synehubov said in a post to social media.
A Russian drone attack on a passenger bus in Zaporizhzhia on Monday killed three people and injured seven others, including a child, head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, said. Russia used an FPV drone in the attack, local Telegram channels said, adding that the incident took place in the city’s Kosmichnyi district.
