Deadly Russian missile strikes knock out power

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations Security Council to act against Russia over air strikes on civilian infrastructure that again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

Russia declared ‘terror’ state by EU lawmakers, batters Ukraine grid

Power supplies

• Zelenskiy appealed to the UN Security Council to take action to stop Russian air strikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

• Russian missiles knocked out electricity in the Kyiv region and killed at least six people in the Ukrainian capital during attacks that caused blackouts across the country.

• Ukraine disconnected power units at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power station in the west after massive Russian missile strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the regional governor said.

• Special “invincibility centres” will be set up around Ukraine to provide electricity, heat, water, internet, mobile phone connections and pharmacy service, free of charge and around the clock, Zelenskiy said.

Conflict

• Battles raged in the east, where Russia has sent some of the forces it moved following its withdrawal from around the city of Kherson in the south. Russia is pressing an offensive of its own along a stretch of frontline west of the city of Donetsk, held by its proxies since 2014.

• The European Parliament’s website was unavailable for several hours due to a denial-of-service attack by “pro-Kremlin” hackers, after its lawmakers designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, the institute’s president said.

• About 50 Russian soldiers were killed and up to 50 were wounded when Ukrainian forces attacked an ammunition depot in the eastern Luhansk region, the Ukrainian military said.

• Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts. Russia denies targeting civilians.

Foreign response, aid

• European Union governments failed to reach a deal on what level to cap prices for Russian sea-borne oil under the Group of Seven nations (G7) scheme and will resume talks on Thursday evening or on Friday, EU diplomats said.

• The United States has authorized an additional $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, which will include weapons, munitions and air defense equipment. The Biden administration has provided $19.7 billion in military assistance to Ukraine