Ukrainian strikes hit power, heating of 2 cities in Russia

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

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The report comes as Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other’s energy infrastructure and US-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 on Friday struck substations that power two nuclear power plants.

And in Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said Moscow intended to honour its obligations under a global nuclear test ban, despite a recent order by President Vladimir Putin to study the possibility of resuming atomic tests.

A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional Governor 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 local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.

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

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