Photo: Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy Region
On the night of September 17, the occupiers launched a massive attack on Sumy, damaging critical infrastructure in the city.
Alyona Yatsyna, co-founder of Kordon.media, spoke about the consequences of the Russian attack on Hromadske Radio.
«Russians shelled the city again. In the past hour, we’ve had four ballistic missile strikes. Fires are now raging across the city.»
Yatsyna added that the Russians targeted critical infrastructure. The city continues to experience power and water outages.
«The situation has not improved since this morning. Last night was one of the loudest nights in Sumy since the full-scale invasion began. After the 10th strike, I stopped counting the explosions.»
She explained that the city was attacked by «Shahed» drones and aerial bombs. After 1 a.m., the power went out, followed by the loss of communication, according to Yatsyna.
She also mentioned that city authorities had promised to deploy stabilization units after 10 a.m. if power wasn’t restored to residents by then. However, as of now, their availability has not been confirmed, she added.
«We will know for sure in the evening. All enterprises and institutions are currently running on generators. As a last resort, citizens can recharge their gadgets at any of these locations.»
Yatsyna did not provide details about the consequences of the morning shelling in Sumy. However, she noted that there were no casualties from the night’s Russian attacks. Several private homes were damaged by shell fragments, with preliminary reports indicating about six houses affected. One of these homes burned to the ground.
The situation in Konotop is somewhat worse, Yatsyna said. One person was injured in the night attack. Preliminary reports suggest the shelling caused a fire at a local meat processing plant and damaged infrastructure facilities.
«There were at least six hits in Konotop after the night attack by Shahed drones.»
As a reminder, on the night of September 17, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 51 Shahed 131/136 drones.
«Air defences were active in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Sumy, Poltava, and Kharkiv regions.»
The Shahed drones were launched from Kursk, Yeysk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Cape Chauda in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
The enemy’s air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, mobile fire units, and electronic warfare teams. As a result, 34 drones were shot down.
Shelling also continues in Hirnyk and Kurakhove. According to the head of the Donetsk regional police communications department, these strikes involved guided aerial bombs, multiple launch rocket systems, and artillery.
So far, these settlements still have mobile phone service. However, after attacks on the power grid, some areas may partially lose communication. Military administrations are working with specialists to restore connectivity.