A Russian drone and missile blitz left more than 600,000 people in Kyiv without power on Saturday as the embattled capital city braced for a freezing winter.
Three people were killed and more than 30 injured in the overnight air assault, involving more than 600 drones and 36 ballistic missiles. Among the wounded was a 13-year-old boy.
The strikes targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a repeat of previous attacks in the past month, in an attempt by Moscow to cripple the power grid before winter.
It was one of the most sustained attacks on Kyiv since the start of the three-year conflict, and lasted more than ten hours. Last week a similar attack ordered by the Kremlin against the capital killed seven.
DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, said more than 500,000 residents of Kyiv were without electricity, with a further 100,000 around the capital also hit. Many in the city reported problems with the water supply.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the main targets were ‘energy and civilian facilities’, adding that flats and houses had also been hit.
Russia’s defence ministry said the ‘massive’ strikes were a response to what it called ‘terrorist attacks’ on Russian oil installations.
Ukraine’s security service said it had struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea thought to be part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ used to evade international sanctions. It published footage showing a naval drone speeding towards one of the ships, followed by fire and smoke billowing from the vessel’s side.
Three people were killed and more than 30 injured in the Russian overnight air assault on Kyiv
The attack left more than 600,000 people in Kyiv without power on Saturday as the embattled capital city braced for a freezing winter
The temperature in Kyiv on Sunday is forecast to fall to 1C and there has been public fury in Ukraine at apparent corruption in the energy sector.
Earlier this month, eight people were accused of siphoning off and laundering £75million from the state-owned nuclear power company.
US President Donald Trump wants the two countries to accept a draft peace plan, which was initially skewed heavily in favour of Russia but revised during talks with Ukrainian officials and their European allies.
Mr Zelensky will fly to Paris on Monday to discuss ‘the conditions of a just and durable peace’ with president Emmanuel Macron.