Ukrainian drone strikes killed three people in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local authorities announced on Wednesday. The deaths came as a fresh wave of attacks cut electricity to multiple cities in Ukraine and to parts of Russian-occupied Crimea, officials on both sides said.
In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's overnight strikes damaged power generation facilities and substations in nine regions, leaving emergency outages in many cities. Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed on Telegram that it hit two power stations in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of targeting its energy grid as temperatures fall ahead of winter.
The overnight Russian attacks on critical infrastructure caused hours-long power and water outages across Kyiv and surrounding regions. Residents of the capital were urged to use public drinking water fountains, and emergency centres offering hot tea and power points for charging devices were set up in the worst-hit areas. Beyond the capital, Russian strikes also hit the regions of Poltava, Dnipro, Kirovohrad and Rivne, according to the Reuters news agency, citing Ukraine's emergency service and local officials.
Power was also lost in Crimea, the peninsula Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 that is home to roughly 2.5 million people. Russia's Ministry of Energy said Ukrainian strikes hit energy infrastructure overnight and that temporary outage schedules were in force, though it did not say how many households were affected. Reports also indicated that authorities in Russia-held Crimea ordered power cuts after an accident outside the region, a Moscow-installed official said, according to Reuters.
In southern Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at a major warehouse belonging to Ozon, the online retailer often described as Russia's Amazon. Regional head Murat Kumpilov said the strikes targeted an Ozon distribution facility in the town of Adygeysk, in the Republic of Adygea. Ozon said all workers were evacuated and no one was hurt, and that it had removed damaged goods from its listings and rerouted deliveries. Russia's Defence Ministry separately said it downed 709 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions, Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Against the backdrop of the fighting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes United States President Donald Trump will press on with his peace efforts after a sweeping Democratic victory in the congressional midterms dealt a blow to the president. "President Trump continues to exercise his powers. We sincerely hope that he will also continue his peacemaking efforts," Peskov said in a statement.
Asked whether a change in Congress could hinder Trump's efforts, Peskov said, as cited by the state-run Interfax news outlet, that it was "an internal matter for America". Democratic control of the legislature when the new Congress convenes in January is expected to bring a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority that could pressure Trump to change course, though there is little expectation that the United States will return as a major financial backer of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy awarded US First Lady Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga, which honours women who have contributed to Ukraine, according to a presidential decree issued on Wednesday. The decree cited her "significant personal contribution" in providing support for humanitarian aid and children in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say the first lady played a pivotal role in organising a six-day local ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, which ended on Sunday.
