Frontline fighting intensifies while Russian strikes cause broad blackouts in Ukraine

Intense combat persists along the Ukrainian frontline, with over 150 engagements recorded in a single day, concentrated heavily along the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka axes. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian counterattacks have stalled Russian offensive progress near Kupyansk and Sloviansk. However, Russian forces expanded their presence south of Dobropillia and claimed control over a village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Simultaneously, extensive Russian air strikes targeting Ukraine's energy grid triggered widespread blackouts, impacting over 600,000 residents in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and 250,000 in Kharkiv Oblast, alongside heat disruptions in Kyiv and Zhytomyr Oblast.

Meanwhile, several Russian regions instituted fuel sales restrictions to address local deficits following a series of targeted Ukrainian drone attacks against eight major Russian oil refineries over a two-week span.

Sources: Belsat, NEXTA, The Insider, Радіо Свобода, Українська правда.