KYIV, Ukraine, Oct 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russian strikes caused widespread blackouts and cut off phone networks in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, with repairs stalled by ongoing drone attacks on Tuesday.

Ukraine has restricted electricity consumption across the country in recent weeks following systematic Russian strikes on energy sites and the rail network.

The Chernigiv region, which was briefly occupied when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, has come under particularly heavy bombardment in recent weeks.

Its main city, also called Chernigiv, had an estimated pre-war population of 283,000 people.

"Critical infrastructure like hospitals have had to turn to autonomous power supply," a spokesman for the regional authorities told AFP, adding the severe outages began late Monday.

"There are also water problems for those living on the upper floors. The whole city and the surrounding area in the north is blacked out," Andriy Podorvan, the representative of Chernigiv regional military administration said.

The Ukrainian energy ministry said repair crews were unable to begin restoring damaged facilities due to "relentless" Russian drone attacks.

"The Russians deliberately launch unmanned aerial vehicles that continuously fly over damaged facilities, making it impossible to safely carry out repairs and intentionally prolonging the humanitarian crisis," it said in a statement.

Oleg, a vet in Chernigiv, told AFP he was working without electricity.

"There is no heat, and the animals are cold. There is no water to give them to drink. There is nothing to clean the premises with. There is no way to clean our instruments either," he added.

The Kremlin claims its forces only target military facilities and have blamed continued civilian suffering on Kyiv for refusing Russian terms for ending the war.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has issued arrest warrants for top Russian army officials for the "war crime of causing excessive" harm to civilians by striking Ukrainian energy sites.

The Court issued a separate arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his authorities' alleged abduction of Ukrainian children from areas occupied by Moscow.