Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian missile strikes had targeted water facilities and a thermal power plant in Kharkiv in the retaliatory strikes, which caused massive blackouts. It comes after Ukrainian troops forced Russia to abandon its main bastion in the Kharkiv region in a swift offensive over the weekend. Power outages plunged Kharkiv and Donetsk regions into darkness, while some power outages also occurred in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions. Some areas later reported that power had been restored. “Without military installations, the goal is to deprive people of light and heat,” Zelensky tweeted late Sunday. The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, echoed Mr Zelensky’s sentiments and condemned the strikes. “Russia’s apparent response to Ukraine’s liberation of towns and villages in the east: sending missiles to try to destroy critical urban infrastructure,” he tweeted. In the Kharkiv region, a Russian attack on a power station killed an employee, governor Oleg Synegubov said. Moscow has denied that its forces are deliberately targeting civilians. Follow the latest updates below.
