Russian drones, missiles hit Ukraine power and transport sectors, Kyiv says
World
There was no breakthrough in US-brokered talks this week aimed at ending the conflict
KYIV (Reuters) - A large-scale Russian drone and missile attack damaged power facilities in eight Ukrainian regions, causing blackouts and forcing nuclear power plants to cut power output, officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy sector and infrastructure in recent weeks, targeting power stations and railway hubs as winter deepens and the war approaches its fourth anniversary.
There was no breakthrough in US-brokered talks this week aimed at ending the conflict.
Ukraine operates three nuclear power plants which produce more than half of the country's electricity and IAEA said the plants cut production due to "widespread military activities overnight".
The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched 653 drones and 51 missiles on Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian forces downed 585 drones and 30 missiles, the military said.
Power and heat generation facilities in Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions were targeted in the attack, Ukraine's ministry for development of communities and territories said.
It said on Telegram that 9,500 customers remained without heat and 34,000 without water supply in the southern Odesa region.
"Port facilities (in Odesa) have also been attacked: part of the infrastructure has been de-energised, and operators have switched to backup power from generators," the ministry said.
"Emergency repair work is already underway where safety conditions permit. Energy companies are doing everything possible to restore power to all customers as quickly as possible," the energy ministry said on Telegram.
RAILWAYS UNDER ATTACK
Among the sites hit overnight was a railway hub near Kyiv, where the depot and railway carriages were damaged, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said.
The railway did not report any casualties from the attack, in the town of Fastiv.
"Russia continues to disregard any peace efforts and instead strikes critical civilian infrastructure, including our energy system and railways," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
"This shows that no decisions to strengthen Ukraine and raise pressure on Russia can be delayed. And especially not under the pretext of peace process," he added.
Ukrzaliznytsia said on the Telegram messaging app that it was forced to cancel several suburban trains near the capital and the city of Chernihiv in northeastern Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces launched a "massive strike" overnight in response to what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.
The ministry said the strike used high-precision, long-range air- and ground-based weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and long-range drones.
It targeted Ukraine's military-industrial enterprises, energy facilities supporting their operations, and port infrastructure used for military purposes, the ministry added.
POLAND SCRAMBLED JETS BUT AIRSPACE WAS NOT VIOLATED
Separately, sirens sounded early on Saturday in Lubartow in the Lublin region of eastern Poland, private broadcaster RMF FM reported.
RMF quoted local mayor Krzysztof Pasnik as saying the warning was activated due to the situation in Ukraine.
Poland scrambled jets overnight due to the Russian attacks on Ukraine, but the Operational Command of the Armed Forces said there were no airspace violations.
