Some 400 communities were without electricity in Ukraine on Sunday due to “extremely difficult” weather conditions, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Ukraine’s power grid is threatened by a new Russian bombing campaign.

Kiev fears new massive Russian strikes against infrastructure in winter, like in 2022, when attacks by Moscow forces plunged millions of people into the cold and darkness.

“In a large part of the territory of our country we have extremely difficult meteorological conditions,” Mr. Zelensky summarized in his evening speech.

According to the head of state, 400 communities in ten regions, mainly in the southern part of the country, do not have electricity.

“Our engineers will restore power as soon as possible,” he promised, as temperatures in the country have now dropped sharply and blizzards are occurring in places.

As of Thursday, Ukraine’s state-owned electricity company Ukrenergo spoke of a “difficult” situation on the grid due to increased consumption due to falling temperatures.

It had to ask for “urgent” help on Wednesday by importing electricity from three neighboring EU member states (Romania, Slovakia, Poland).

Last Saturday, the Ukrainian capital was the target of what authorities described as the largest Russian drone attack since the outbreak of war. The strikes temporarily cut power to dozens of properties.

This particular raid may have been a prelude to a new Russian campaign of mass bombing.

In early October, Ukrainian President Zelensky predicted that Russia would try to “destroy” his country’s electricity distribution network this year. To counter the threat, Kiev is asking its Western allies for more air defense systems.