Konotop Mayor: No Forecast for Power Return After Fourth Day of Blackout

Four days have passed since Russian strikes cut power to the city of Konotop in Sumy Oblast, leaving residents without electricity and with no official timeline for restoration. Mayor Artem Semenikhin confirmed on October 26 that the blackout persists, citing ongoing uncertainty in the energy supply network.

The outage began in the early hours of October 24, when Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack on the Konotop administrative district after 3:00 a.m. The strikes hit energy facilities, a school, and private homes, causing an immediate and total power loss. Later that afternoon, a separate drone attack targeted a civilian agricultural business in the district. One farm worker, aged 31, died in that incident, while four others sustained injuries.

As of the night of October 26, most of Konotop has also lost its natural gas supply. The city is now operating on a strict schedule for water delivery. Residents receive water only from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and again from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Local institutions are adapting to the power vacuum. Schools have suffered damage from the attacks, and the city hospital relies entirely on backup generators to maintain operations.

Semenikhin stated that the lack of a restoration date is the primary concern for city officials. "Unfortunately, there are no forecasts for when power will be restored. No forecasts at all," he wrote in a post on Telegram. The regional power distribution company, Sumyoblenergo, reported that emergency repair crews are working around the clock to fix the damaged energy facilities.

Sumyoblenergo noted that the duration of the repair work depends heavily on the security situation on the ground. Crews must wait for safe access to the damaged sites before they can begin or continue their work. The company did not provide a specific date for when the grid might be stabilized.

The administrative unit affected is the Konotop hromada, which includes the town and its adjacent villages. The ongoing blackouts have forced a shift in daily life for thousands of residents. Water rationing and the reliance on generators for critical services define the current conditions in the city center and surrounding areas.