Russian strikes cause power outages for more than 600,000 in Ukraine

5 hours agoAleks PhillipsandYang TianMore than 600,000 people in the Kyiv region of Ukraine were without power on Saturday morning after an overnight Russian attack.Ukraine's energy ministry said more than 500,000 of these were in the capital itself, with the rest in the surrounding region. It attributed the power losses to missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure in the city and several other regions.Around 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones were launched on targets across Ukraine overnight, officials said, killing three and injuring dozens of others.Russia has intensified attacks on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure as the embattled nation heads into winter, despite US-led efforts to secure a peace deal.Russia's defence ministry said it had launched "a massive strike... against Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises and the energy facilities that support their operation".Dtek Energy, which serves properties in Kyiv, said later on Saturday that power had been restored to more than 360,000 families.As well as energy infrastructure, several residential buildings were hit in the overnight strikes, Ukrainian officials said.Loud explosions were heard across Kyiv early on Saturday morning. Emergency services were later seen attending to burning blocks of flats damaged by strikes.Kyiv's Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said a 13-year-old child was among the 29 people injured in the capital city.Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 558 of the drones and 19 of the missiles.Kyiv is among several cities that have suffered regular aerial bombardment since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Many Ukrainians have also had to live through regular blackouts, as Moscow has targeted energy infrastructure in previous winters.On Sunday it is forecast to fall to 2C in Kyiv, which has average temperatures below freezing in December.Ukraine has targeted Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries and depots, in particular with long-range weaponry that can probe deep inside Russia. It says this is to curb revenue for Moscow's war effort from Russia's main export.Ukraine's security service said on Saturday that it had struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea thought to be part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of vessels used to evade international sanctions.It published footage showing a waterborne drone barrelling towards one of the boats, followed by video showing fire and smoke billowing out of the vessel's side.The latest bombardment came as Ukrainian negotiators were preparing for talks with US officials this weekend. US President Donald Trump is pushing for the two sides to accept a draft peace plan, which was initially slanted heavily in favour of Russia but subsequently revised during talks with Ukrainians and their European allies in Geneva.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the diplomatic efforts while stressing Kyiv's need to retain its sovereignty and ability to fend off any future attack.On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin repeated his core demands for ending the war, saying Russia would only halt its offensive if Ukraine's troops withdrew from territory claimed by Moscow.Russian forces currently control most - but not all - of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, as well as a portion of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. US and European allies have called for the war to be frozen along the current front line.Putin also confirmed a US delegation including special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow in the first half of next week to discuss the draft peace plan.