Retired Russian Air Force captain Ilya Tumanov wrote on his popular Fighterbomber blog (550,000 followers) on Thursday, just a few hours before the attacks, that Russian bombers and missiles they will shut their “bad mouth” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, blowing up Ukrainian energy grid infrastructure.
Commenting on the Ukrainian president's October 9 warnings that if Russia attacks Ukraine, Ukraine will retaliate, Tumanov, an unofficial spokesman for the Russian air force, he seemed to anticipate the Russian attacks that came just hours later: “Apparently there have been some corrections, reversals, corrections and guidance from above [z zagranicy — red.]and Zelensky's ability to deliver was limited to two areas: power outages and air attacks on Ukraine. Tomorrow [ataki] may be limited to power outages and attacks on Chernihiv. Or maybe he just hasn't had enough yet.”
On the popular military news channel on Telegram Dwa Majora (1.2 million followers), in a Friday morning comment on the Russian attacks, published a few hours after the drone and missile strikes, co-authors Dmitry Korzin and Yekaterina Korzina wrote about the attacks:
“In Kiev – part of the capital has no electricity… Emergency schedules for power outages have been introduced in the Sumy Oblast… Residents of Zaporozhye were urged to temporarily reduce gas consumption; explosions were also heard in the Kiev, Kharkov, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava Oblasts. Bastards [ukraińskie media] they lie, they exaggerate the damage to mislead our people in the hope that they won't do it again. At the same time, in the West they present themselves as victims.”
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The mainstream “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” (140,000 subscribers to the print edition and over 1 million online subscribers) wrote about Friday's attacks on its news channel: “There were power and transport failures in Kiev. […] Vladimir Putin: Russia is working on a Ukrainian settlement based on the principles discussed at the Alaska summit. […] Significant damage to the power grid. […] Kyiv is not reacting either to the draft memorandum or to the Russian proposal of three working groups…”
“This is not the first strike and certainly not the last.”
The Kremlin-run Ukrainian news platform Ukraina.ru, banned in Ukraine but available via VPN, headlined its coverage of Friday's attacks: “Darkness has descended on Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk: Russian armed forces bombed and shelled Ukraine.”
The article reported enthusiastically: “Another attack on Kiev! Explosions in Kaniv. Many missiles hit targets in Kremenchuk! Another missile attack on Kryvyi Rih! At least two Kindzhal rockets hit a target in Dnipropetrovsk! Rocket attack on Dnepropetrovsk Oblast. Missile is approaching a target in Kirovohrad Oblast!”
The report stated that the energy situation in Kiev is “dire” and more than 70 percent of the electricity is turned off. city. The linked Thursday interview with “economic observer” Ivan Lizan assured: “The powerful strikes of the Russian armed forces on the Ukrainian energy sector are a new factor in the war in Ukraine. Deelectrification is in full swing… This is not the first strike and certainly not the last.”
Popular Russian “war correspondent” Semyon Pegov (860,000 followers on Telegram, 131,000 followers on VKontakt) wrote in his Friday morning report on the night attacks on Ukraine: “Kiev was left without electricity as a result of massive attacks by Russian forces on the Ukrainian energy network.”
Kyiv in darkness, October 10, 2025.PAP/EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
“The attack had critical consequences for the republic… The national power grid, which suffered an unprecedented blow, is teetering on the brink of collapse” – reported Piegov, writing from an unspecified Russian location, probably Moscow.
The example comes from above. This is what Medvedev and Soloviev incited
Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev, vice chairman of the National Security Council and former president, in a Telegram post on October 3 called for “complete destruction of the Ukrainian energy grid with constant attacks on transformers, generators and thermal power plants…” to plunge Kiev into Stone Age suffering and make every Ukrainian regret having resisted.”
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, in a March 7 broadcast on the national television channel Rossiya-1, called on the Russian military to intensify attacks on Ukraine “in order to turn off the light for good and make it happen [Ukraińcy] they froze in the dark this winter, […] to break the will of the Ukrainian people.”
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
