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Ukraine Battles To Restore Power As Russian Strikes Batter Grid Sites

By RFE/RL October 03, 2025

Ukrainian emergency crews were battling to restore power to northern parts of the country as Russian forces continued to attack crucial civilian infrastructure with drone and rocket attacks, while Ukraine's strategic Pokrovsk region remained under pressure.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Sochi amid drone alerts in that Black Sea resort city, warned the United States against sending long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying it would bring an entire new "level of escalation."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Telegram late on October 2 that power was back on line in the Sumy region near the Russian border following overnight attacks.

"The enemy continues to purposefully hit the energy infrastructure. We are working to protect the system from new threats," she wrote.

She added that work is continuing in the Chernihiv region to bring back power following Russian shelling on October 1 that had left an estimated 300,000 people without electricity.

Ukraine's General Staff said at least 133 combat clashes took place along the front lines during the day on October 2, with much of the activity in the embattled Pokrovsk region.

Pokrovsk, a city with about 7,000 inhabitants -- down from more than 60,000 prewar -- holds crucial road and rail junctions and has been under threat of encirclement by Russian forces for most of the year.

"In the Pokrovsk direction, the invading units tried 36 times to break through our defenses," the General Staff said.

In all, it said, Russian forces launched 47 air strikes and dropped 115 guided aerial bombs along with hundreds of kamikaze drones.

Putin claimed that Russian troops had entered the city of Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian officials denied the report and said Russian forces continued to suffer heavy losses in the region.

Ukrainian military spokesman Maksym Bakulin said Russian forces have attempted around-the-clock raids to enter Pokrovsk but have been hampered by the weather and Ukrainian resistance.

In Sochi, Putin spoke to a discussion club, railing against Western involvement in Ukraine and warning Washington against sending long-range missiles to aid Kyiv.

"Using Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel is impossible. This would mark a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States," Putin said.

Following Putin's speech, a drone alarm was sounded in the Black Sea resort city, although it was unclear where Putin was at the time of the alert, and it was not immediately known if drones had hit the region.

US Missiles For Ukraine, Via Europe

US Vice President JD Vance on September 28 said the United States was considering Ukraine's request to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles in its battle against Russian aggression.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked Washington to sell the missiles to European nations that would then send them to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy says US President Donald Trump told him Kyiv could respond to Russia's attacks on its energy infrastructure with tit-for-tat strikes, as Ukraine continues to pound Russian refining operations.

"If they attack our energy, President Trump supports that we can answer on energy," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios released on September 25.

He added that Trump had also green-lit retaliatory strikes on Russia's military factories. However, he suggested they might be harder to reach due to the high level of defense of such facilities.

On October 2, Zelenskyy warned European leaders that Russia has the ability to violate airspace anywhere on the continent and urged them to develop defense forces to fend off drones.

"If the Russians dare to launch drones against Poland, or violate the airspace of northern European countries, it means this can happen anywhere," Zelenskyy told European leaders gathered for a summit on security and defense in Copenhagen.

"In Western Europe, in the south, we need fast and effective response and defense forces that know how to deal with drones," he said.

The gathering came after drone sightings in Denmark forced the closure of Copenhagen's airport on September 22 and after multiple Russian drone incursions into the airspace of other European countries.

Also on October 2, Russia and Ukraine conducted another prisoner exchange, the most recent in a series of such swaps. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram that 185 Russian servicemen had been returned, adding that 20 civilians were also released as part of the swap.

Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, posting pictures of the released Ukrainians wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

"We are bringing home 185 of our defenders from Russian captivity. One hundred eighty-three are enlisted personnel and sergeants, and two are officers," Zelenskyy said on X. Twenty civilians are also returning home, he added.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-tomahawk- putin-power-outages-war/33547434.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.