# Ukrainian drones hit Russian‑held power and gas sites, straining occupied regions’ energy grid

*Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 6:20 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-23T06:20:32.342Z (3h ago)
**Category**: conflict | **Region**: Eastern Europe
**Importance**: 9/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/18618.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Ukrainian mid‑range drones have recently struck at least two 220 kV substations, five 110 kV substations, 17 other power substations and 10 gas distribution stations in Russian‑controlled areas of Ukraine, Crimea and Russia’s border regions, according to battlefield reporting.

Ukraine is intensifying pressure on the energy backbone of Russian‑held territory.

Over the past week, Ukrainian mid‑range drones have repeatedly attacked power and gas infrastructure across Russian‑controlled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions, as well as in Crimea and Russia’s own border oblasts.

According to recent reporting, the strikes have hit a defined set of targets: at least two electrical substations operating at 220 kilovolts (kV), five at 110 kV, and 17 other substations whose capacity was not specified. In parallel, 10 separate gas distribution stations were attacked.

Substations are the nodes that move electricity from long‑distance transmission lines into regional and local networks. Taking out a 220 kV or 110 kV site can shut down power for wide areas, affecting homes, hospitals, industry and military logistics. Gas distribution stations play a similar role for fuel, regulating flows to towns, factories and field units.

These attacks sit alongside higher‑profile Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukrainian action has destroyed 45% of Russia’s refinery facilities and argued that hitting refineries limits Russia’s diesel supply. The drone campaign against substations and gas nodes extends that logic from production to distribution in occupied territories and border areas.

Russia can repair many damaged sites, but specialized components for high‑voltage substations and gas infrastructure aren’t always quick to replace, especially under sanctions and wartime strain. Each successful strike adds another outage to manage and another stretch of network to defend.

For residents in occupied towns and in Russia’s border regions, the immediate effects show up as blackouts, voltage drops or gas disruptions. For Russian forces, it complicates keeping command posts, depots and repair workshops powered near the front.

Key signals in the weeks ahead will be whether Russia visibly reinforces air defence around key substations and gas facilities in occupied areas, whether it acknowledges prolonged outages in those regions, and whether Ukraine’s drones begin to target deeper nodes of Russia’s interior energy network rather than focusing mainly on front‑adjacent grids.