dpa
Kiev
There were widespread power outages in the embattled north-eastern Ukrainian region of Sumy on Tuesday following Russian drone attacks on energy sites, the local electricity provider said.
Despite ongoing repair work, over 280,000 households were still without power in the morning.
The regional capital was among the locations put in the dark due to the overnight assault.
Critical infrastructure facilities such as hospitals and waterworks are being supplied with electricity via backup power systems, authorities said.
Sixteen Russian combat drones were shot down over Sumy, officials said.
Sumy borders the Russian region of Kursk, into which Ukrainian troops advanced at the beginning of August.
Authorities said the Russian military launched at least 51 combat drones in total overnight. Of these, the Ukrainian army’s air defence claimed to have shot down 34.
Twelve more Russian drones were said to have been diverted and brought down using electronic measures.