Massive attack with Russian drones on the city of Krîvîi Rih. 45,000 people were left without electricity and heat in the dead of winter

Russian forces have launched a massive drone attack on the infrastructure of Krîvî Rih, leaving around 45,000 customers without electricity and hundreds of buildings without heating, local authorities said.

Drone attack PHOTO: video capture

According to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Krîvî Rih Defense Council, Russian Shahed drones caused major damage to the city's power grid and heating system.

About 700 buildings were left without heat and water pumps switched to emergency generators, causing water pressure to drop.

“Emergency crews are working to assess the damage and restore power, but the full extent of the damage is not yet known,” Vilkul said, stressing that there were no casualties, according to kyivindependent.

He also urged residents to stock up on water and charge their devices.

“Please get some water and charge your devices if possible. It will be difficultil”, the official wrote.

The attack is part of a wider campaign by Russia to hit Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with the aim of putting pressure on the population through blackouts of electricity and heat during the winter.

Last week, several regions, including Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, were affected by similar attacks.

The situation is also difficult in the capital Kiev, where a massive attack on critical infrastructure on the night of January 9 left thousands of homes without heat and caused at least four deaths.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that about 6,000 buildings, nearly half of the city's apartment buildings, were affected.

The crisis is amplified by extremely cold temperatures. On the night of January 13, thermometers in Kiev dropped to -14°C, and meteorologists predict that the frost will continue for at least two weeks.