Russian Air Attacks on Ukraine Result in Casualties and Power Outages

Russian air attacks have resulted in the deaths of at least six people in Ukraine and left hundreds of thousands without power. This occurred shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" in the ongoing conflict. The Russian Defence Ministry reported on Wednesday that its forces conducted a "massive" strike targeting communications and energy infrastructure in Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency. The strikes reportedly hit two power and heating plants in Kyiv, two additional plants in the surrounding region, and an electricity substation. Other targets included a heating and power plant in Kharkiv and a thermal power facility that the ministry claimed supplied the Ukrainian military in southeastern Kharkiv. The ministry also stated that a data center in Kyiv, allegedly used for gathering intelligence on Russian military activities, was struck. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko advised residents to remain in shelters, noting that energy facilities in the capital faced significant disruptions due to the missile strikes. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy provider, confirmed that the attacks led to emergency power cuts in several urban districts of Kyiv. The Ukrainian state emergency service reported that a Russian strike on a multistorey building in Kyiv's Desnianskyi district killed two people, while another attack in Golosiivsky district resulted in one death. Additionally, the Ukrainian military reported two fatalities and six injuries in the Dnipropetrovsk region due to Russian attacks, with another death reported in the Zaporizhzhia region. Further missile attacks were noted in the Kharkiv and Zhytomyr regions, as well as strikes in Sumy and Chernihiv. Al Jazeera's Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv, stated that a record number of hypersonic missiles were utilized in the capital's attacks, leaving over half a million people without power. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the lack of warnings from Western partners regarding the missile attacks, emphasizing the absence of early alerts about the ballistic missiles. He accused Russia of violating the announced energy ceasefire and described the missile strike as deliberate and indicative of Russia's disregard for the United States. A technology adviser to the Ukrainian president noted that operations of some Starlink internet terminals were restricted overnight, affecting military operations. Sergiy Beskrestnov indicated that SpaceX had imposed a speed limit on the Starlink terminals, which disrupted combat missions. In response, Russia reported Ukrainian drone strikes, with one strike in Balakovo resulting in one fatality. The governor of Saratov region, Roman Busargin, stated that all infrastructure facilities were functioning normally. Sberbank confirmed that its data center in the Saratov region was attacked by drones but reported that all systems remained operational. Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced that air defense forces had downed nearly 500 drones targeting the Russian capital overnight, with additional drones intercepted over the Rostov region and other areas.