"Leave Kherson – the enemy has destroyed the thermal power station, and we cannot count on it operating as normal this winter" – head of the regional administration

Alexander Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, is urging residents to leave the city.

According to him, Kherson may be left without electricity and heating for an extended period.

Overnight, Russian forces once again attacked the Kherson Thermal Power Station with aerial bombs. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. But this time, the facility sustained very serious damage.

“So I’ll be frank: we can no longer count on the thermal power station or other critical infrastructure facilities operating as normal this winter,” the official wrote on Telegram.

According to him, we must be realistic: Kherson may be without electricity and heating not for hours or days, but for a prolonged period.

“Once again, I appeal to the residents of Kherson, especially families with children and the elderly: if you have the opportunity, or if you have relatives or friends in safer regions – leave,” urged Prokudin.

He also stated that the city’s residents can contact the Regional State Administration.

“We will help with evacuation, transport, rehousing and social support,” assured the head of the regional state administration.

To arrange for residents to leave, please contact the Kherson Regional State Administration’s contact centre: 0 800 101 102, 0 800 330 951. The government’s evacuation helpline is 1548.

Prokudin added that the city authorities, utility services, energy providers and the government are already working on alternative options for heating and power supply in Kherson.

At the same time, he reported that the security situation in Kherson is extremely complex.

According to him, 170 guided aerial bombs have already been dropped on the Kherson region since 1 July. More have been used in just under two months than in the entire first half of 2026.

Over the past two months, the enemy has launched more than 1,700 attack UAVs. In particular, it has begun to make more active use of jet-powered ‘Shahed’ and ‘Gerbera’ drones to strike critical infrastructure in the Kherson region.

Furthermore, in just one week, the number of attacks using small FPV drones rose to 6,500.