Russia drones smash power network in Ukraine's Odesa leaving 1.5 million without power

All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday (December 10).

Since October, Moscow has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure with large waves of missile and drone strikes.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for Odesa's regional administration, said electricity for the city's population will be restored "in the coming days," while complete restoration of the networks may take two to three months.

Odesa had more than 1 million residents before the Feb. 24 invasion that Russia calls a "special military operation" to "denazify" its smaller neighboUr.

Kyiv says Russia has launched hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones at targets in Ukraine, describing the attacks as war crimes due to their devastating effect on civilian life. Moscow says its attacks are militarily legitimate and that it does not target civilians.

Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said two power facilities in Odesa region were hit by Shahed-136 drones.

Ukraine's armed forces said on Facebook that 15 drones had been launched against targets in the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, and 10 had been shot down.