Strikes disrupt power, heat in 2 Russian cities

Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, local Russian officials reported Sunday.

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RUSSIAN forces reportedly fire at a drone in an undisclosed Ukrainian location in an image provided Friday.

(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

The report comes as Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other's energy infrastructure and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have not advanced.

Elsewhere, Ukraine's top diplomat accused Moscow of deliberately endangering nuclear safety, as he said Russia's mass drone and missile attack Friday struck substations that power two nuclear plants.

And in Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said Moscow intended to honor its obligations under a global nuclear test ban, despite a recent order by President Vladimir Putin to study the possibility of resuming atomic tests after President Trump indicated the U.S. might do the same.

A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, Russia, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over 1 million people, sparking a fire at a utility facility that was quickly extinguished.

Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram said the strike targeted a local thermal power plant.

'Serious damage' in city of Belgorod

A missile strike late Saturday also caused “serious damage” to power and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod, with some 20,000 households affected, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported Sunday.