Telecoms blackout hits northeast Ukraine; large power outages also reported
A telecoms blackout has reportedly hit Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine, marking one of the most serious communications disruptions of the conflict so far.
The blackout was reported by the internet shutdown tracker NetBlocks on March 3rd at 8:23PM local time (1:23PM ET).
NetBlocks said that residents had reported massive blasts at a thermal power plant and electrical substation. A power outage tracker monitoring the region also said that it was no longer receiving data for Sumy Oblast.
Sumy Oblast is one of 24 administrative regions, known as “oblasts,” that make up Ukraine and has a population of roughly one million people.