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«Ни слова про свет!»

A drone strike that appears to have hit Mariupol’s port and nearby energy infrastructure has left parts of the occupied city without power for days, while Russian-installed officials stay silent and residents face a deepening fuel crisis.

«Ни слова про свет!». Некоторые районы Мариуполя уже десять дней живут без электричества. Местные чиновники игнорируют жалобы жителей
Novaya Gazeta Europe · By Новая газета Европа · 17 June 2026 · read the original in Russian →

6 июня в Мариуполе прогремела серия взрывов, в городе была объявлена опасность БПЛА. Вероятно, целью атаки были порт Мариуполя и прилегающая к нему подстанция. По данным телеграм-канала «Мариуполь наш», в тот день был зафиксирован удар по подстанции в Приморском районе, недалеко от порта. В тот же день похожую информацию опубликовал телеграм-канал «Астра», заявивший о том, что в порту Мариуполя начался пожар. Позже, 10 июня, «Астра», ссылаясь на ресурсы 1-й корпуса Национальной гвардии «Азов», уточнила, что «были нанесены удары по электроподстанциям, радиолокационному оборудованию, ремонтной инфраструктуре, диспетчерской башне, а также резервуарам с горюче-смазочными материалами». После этого, утверждает телеграм-канал «Азова», порт остался без электроснабжения.

On June 6, a series of explosions thundered through Mariupol, and a drone alert was declared in the city. The likely targets of the attack were the port of Mariupol and the adjacent substation. According to the Telegram channel Mariupol Nash, a strike was recorded that day on a substation in the Primorsky district, not far from the port. The same day, similar information was published by the Telegram channel Astra, which said that a fire had broken out in the port of Mariupol. Later, on June 10, Astra, citing resources linked to the 1st Corps of the Azov National Guard, clarified that “strikes had been carried out on electrical substations, radar equipment, repair infrastructure, the control tower, and tanks containing fuels and lubricants.” After that, the Azov Telegram channel asserts, the port was left without power.

После атаки пострадали не только порт, но и прилагающие к нему районы. В городе начались массовые перебои электроснабжения. В местных чатах жители говорили, что «весь город остался без света». В частности, сообщалось о том, что электроэнергии нет у жителей поселков Кировка, Моряков в Приморском районе и в других частях города. Позже электроснабжение частично восстановили, проблему не решили только в Приморском районе. Местные жители утверждают, что света нет уже 10 дней подряд, некоторым электричество доступно всего несколько часов в день.

After the attack, not only the port suffered, but also the districts adjoining it. The city began experiencing widespread power outages. In local chats, residents said that “the whole city was left without light.” In particular, there were reports that residents of the Kirovka and Moryakov settlements in the Primorsky district, as well as other parts of the city, had no electricity. Later, power was partially restored; the problem remained unresolved only in the Primorsky district. Local residents say there has been no light for ten days in a row, and that some have electricity for only a few hours a day.

“People want to know at least roughly when the electricity will be turned back on, because many homes have electric stoves. As it stands, there is no way to do the most basic thing: cook something to eat,” one subscriber to the Telegram channel Mariupol Nash says indignantly.

Those who are dissatisfied are urging the local Russian administration to do at least something while the district has no electricity:

“The question is, how does the administration propose to solve this problem? Maybe put generators in the district? Or at the very least bring people something to eat from a field kitchen? People need a schedule for when the electricity will be switched on, because it is turned on only briefly, but again: when, and for how long? Where is the schedule?” the indignant author continues.

Yet the local authorities are not responding to the situation in any way. The city’s so-called “mayor,” Anton Koltsov, has been silent for the third day running. His Telegram channel is filled with reposts from Denis Pushilin; he does not comment at all on the situation in the Primorsky district. The head of the district, the “solid administrator” Oleg Kharadzha, last appeared in the information space only when he was appointed to the post.

“And the fact that there is no authority in the city, that the city has been abandoned, that doesn’t bother anyone; it’s just, how can we ban as many people as possible here, and that’s that. Who is going to come take out a mortgage if there is neither light nor water in the city,”

users complain in closed chats.

It is unknown how many people still have no access to electricity. The administrators of some city chats and Telegram channels are deliberately not publishing this information and are deleting messages from the dissatisfied. The moderators explain this by saying that messages about the presence or absence of electricity in specific buildings could supposedly be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“It’s perfectly easy to work out logically from your comments where to direct the next strike so that it hurts more! No offense! Not a word about electricity!” the chat administrator wrote. At the same time, his interlocutors note that this makes no sense, since “the enemy is interested in energy facilities, not whether the lights are on,” and the coordinates of the city substations are already known to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Residents of other occupied cities in Donetsk region are also complaining about power cuts. In the first half of June, electricity was cut off in Makiivka for four days “because of scheduled work”; on June 11, six thousand people in Donetsk were left without electricity after strikes on energy infrastructure.

All this is happening against the backdrop of a fuel crisis. In Mariupol, as in Crimea, filling stations either have no gasoline or sell it only in limited quantities, while prices have risen to 100-130 rubles per liter. The fuel shortage is affecting the civilian sector, with huge lines at gas stations. In Donetsk region, almost a third of taxi drivers have already stopped working because of the lack of fuel.

Y done · S save · G great · B bad · N not for me