Blackouts Hit South as Kyiv, Berlin Race on Air Defense

Russia hit a DTEK thermal power plant with several waves of strikes, knocking out its generation and plunging parts of Mykolaiv and the Kherson region into blackout after severe damage to equipment. The attack underscored how exposed Ukraine's energy grid remains heading into autumn, with crews facing another round of emergency repairs as strikes on power infrastructure keep coming. Against that backdrop, Germany moved to shore up Ukraine's air defenses. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposed building an air defense "dome" over Ukrainian cities, calling on European partners to coordinate on advanced, layered systems that could intercept Russian missiles and drones before they reach the ground. The idea reflects growing alarm in Berlin over the scale and persistence of Russia's aerial campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure. Ukraine is also reinforcing its defenses directly: Kyiv announced plans to buy additional IRIS-T short- and medium-range systems from Germany, expanding the layered protection already shielding major cities. Together, the day's news points to a widening gap between Russia's strikes on the grid and the Western-backed effort to close it before winter.