Ukraine plunged into darkness as Russia continues to strike cities
Russian forces have again targeted Ukraine's energy facilities, leaving part of Kyiv and other cities with no power and water.
Explosions were heard in the capital shortly after 09:00 (06:00 GMT) and plumes of smoke billowed from around a power station near the Dnipro river.
Power and water were cut in Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, and two facilities were badly damaged in Dnipro.
The latest attacks came 24 hours after Kyiv was hit by "kamikaze" drones.
The unmanned drones, believed to be Iranian-made, killed at least five people in the capital and four in the northern city of Sumy, and struck critical infrastructure, with power outages reported in hundreds of towns and villages.
Russia has stepped up attacks in recent weeks on electricity infrastructure in cities away from the front lines. Officials have rushed to repair the damage, but the strikes, ahead of winter, have raised concerns about how the system will respond.
It was not initially clear to what extent drones were involved, although Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, said an S-300 anti-aircraft missile was fired at a residential building in the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, killing one person. The city's flower market was also destroyed.
In other attacks early on Tuesday:
- In Zhytomyr, the mayor said there was no power or water in the city and hospitals were working on back-up power
- The strikes on a power plant in Kyiv left one area on the bank of the Dnipro river without electricity and water, reports said
- Power and water supplies were also disrupted in the central city of Dnipro and officials appealed to residents to use power sparingly
- Shelling was reported in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv
- Infrastructure in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia was also hit, although local officials said no-one had been hurt.
In some cities, Ukrainians are buying power generators and gas burners, while across the country, people have been urged to reduce their energy consumption at peak times. Some towns are already facing rolling blackouts.
The latest attacks, by both missiles and drones, have brought renewed calls from the Ukrainian government for the delivery of air defence missiles.
Earlier, the US said it agreed with its French and UK allies that the supply of drones by Iran violated a UN Security Council resolution linked to a nuclear agreement, barring the transfer of certain military technology.
Ukraine has identified the drones used in deadly attacks on Kyiv and Sumy as Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Vedant Patel of the US state department said the US would not hesitate to use sanctions.
The EU said it was also gathering evidence and was ready to act.
Meanwhile, in one of the biggest prisoner swaps since Russia's war began in February, 218 detainees were exchanged - including 108 Ukrainian women.
Source: BBC
