Kherson residents urged to evacuate as Russian strikes threaten prolonged power and heating loss

Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin urged residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to evacuate on Thursday. The appeal follows severe Russian strikes that damaged a district heating plant and threaten prolonged utility outages.

Prokudin specifically addressed families with children and elderly people, advising them to leave if they have the possibility. He described the security situation as extremely difficult in a city that housed approximately 280,000 people before the invasion began in February 2022.

The regional leader noted that Russian forces attacked the heating facility with glide bombs overnight, causing very serious damage. He warned that Kherson could face electricity and heating shortages not for mere hours or days, but for a long period.

Prokudin added that Ukraine currently lacks the means to destroy these specific types of aerial bombs or drones in any region of the country. This defensive gap leaves critical civilian infrastructure highly vulnerable to sustained bombardment.

This escalation reflects a broader strategic shift over recent months, with long-range strikes increasingly targeting civilian assets across Ukraine. Logistics warehouses, oil facilities, and port infrastructure have become frequent targets, driving up civilian casualties and complicating regional supply chains.

For European policymakers and energy markets, the systematic destruction of Ukrainian heating and power plants recalls the severe energy crises of last winter. Repeated Russian strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure previously plunged millions into darkness, requiring emergency electricity imports and substantial financial support from the European Union to stabilize the national grid.

Kherson remains a highly contested frontline city, having been under Russian occupation from March to November 2022. Russian forces now operate from the opposite side of the Dnipro river, maintaining a regular shelling campaign that continues to depopulate the area and strain humanitarian resources.

The potential long-term loss of heating in a major urban center will inevitably increase the burden on neighboring regions and European aid organizations. As winter approaches, the inability to protect district heating plants underscores the fragile state of Ukraine’s energy resilience against advanced aerial threats.