Fresh Russian strikes damage Ukraine's power grid, disrupting electricity, water and heating in Kyiv
Overnight Russian drone and ballistic missile attacks damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing blackouts. Nine people were hurt, and the strikes come days before trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi.
Russian drone and ballistic missile strikes overnight on Saturday damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing power cuts and disrupting water supplies, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said 12 regions were attacked, with the capital Kyiv hit hardest. The strikes come just before Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to attend trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, next week.
Scale and impact of the attack
The assault involved more than 30 ballistic missiles and over 170 drones. Nine people were reported hurt across the country, including one child. Zelensky wrote on Telegram that Moscow was preparing for the talks by targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure. Temperatures are falling in Ukraine, and some areas have already had the first snow of winter.
According to the president, Kyiv is facing disruptions to electricity, water and heating, and residential buildings, the North Bridge and a kindergarten were damaged. In the Kyiv region, substations linking the Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine were hit. Substations were also damaged in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city's water supply was operating normally again and around 60% of apartment buildings were connected to heating. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said there were power cuts in five regions but did not say how many homes were affected.
Diplomatic background
On Thursday, US First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House. She called for a more enduring ceasefire after last week's truce in the southern Kherson region. During the six-day ceasefire, hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, who faced starvation and constant bombardment, were able to evacuate; both Moscow and Kyiv credited US President Donald Trump with brokering it.
Earlier this week, glide bomb strikes on an aid centre near Zaporizhzhia killed 55 people, with search teams still working through the ruins. Zelensky said Ukraine counts on stronger US support, including increased sanctions pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
