(MOSCOW AND KRASNODAR REGIONS) – Thousands of residents in parts of Russia, including areas around Moscow and the southern Krasnodar region, were left without electricity following fires and disruptions at major power substations, according to local reports and open source accounts circulating on social media. The outages come as Russia continues its full scale war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year, and highlight growing pressure on infrastructure inside Russia itself.
In the Moscow region, electricity cuts were reported in suburban districts following a fire at a large electrical substation. The facility supplies power to nearby residential areas and is also located close to key military installations, including the Russian military academy of missile forces, situated less than four kilometres away. Residents reported hours without electricity during winter conditions, with night time temperatures in the region falling to around minus 30 degrees Celsius.
In southern Russia, a separate outage affected the city of Yeysk in the Krasnodar region, where local authorities and residents said that up to 80,000 people were temporarily left without power. Yeysk is considered a strategic military hub, hosting an air base used by Russian forces and facilities linked to drone storage and operations. The area has previously been associated with military activity linked to attacks on Ukrainian territory.
While Russian officials have not provided detailed public explanations for all the incidents, Ukrainian commentators and analysts have argued that such disruptions reflect the increasing vulnerability of Russian infrastructure as the war continues. They note that energy facilities located near military sites are seen by Ukraine as part of Russia’s broader war making capacity.
The power outages have also renewed debate within Russia about the domestic cost of the conflict. Independent analysts and Russian business figures have warned of growing economic strain, predicting bankruptcies among companies affected by sanctions, labour shortages and rising costs. Some prominent Russian economists and former officials have suggested that the scale of the current economic difficulties could surpass those experienced during the crisis of the 1990s.
In recent years, Russia has repeatedly restricted internet access during periods of crisis, ranking among the countries most frequently imposing shutdowns. Critics say such measures are intended to limit the spread of information about blackouts, explosions, transport disruptions, rising prices and other signs of instability.
