Electricity and water have been temporarily cut off in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian local officials and Russian-appointed local authorities.
The Russian-backed Kherson region administration announced the outages on Telegram Sunday.
It added that “three reinforced concrete columns of high-voltage power lines were damaged" after what it claimed was “a terrorist attack organized by the Ukrainian side.”
The Russian-backed Kherson region administration said that “power and water supply will be restored throughout the Kherson region in the very near future,” asking citizens to remain calm.
CNN cannot independently confirm or verify details of the claimed attack or who was behind it. Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other regarding the incident.
What Ukrainian officials are saying: Yuriy Sobolevskyi, a local Ukrainian leader, confirmed roughly 10 settlements of the Kherson region were left without electricity and water, including the whole city.
“A high-voltage power line was damaged. The occupiers have already 'reported' about the attack. However, they did not specify that the attack was carried out by them. Eyewitness testimonies confirm this,” Sobolevskyi said in a Telegram post.
More context: The fighting in the Kherson region has escalated in recent weeks. Russian-backed authorities have started evacuating residents, evacuations the Ukrainian side calls “forced."
Last month, a resident described the situation in the city as tense, with people “emotionally exhausted,” the streets empty from mid-afternoon onwards and Russian soldiers often seen in civilian clothes.