Ukraine will face nationwide power cuts of eight to 16 hours today after Russian strikes left parts of the country’s energy system in ruins, officials said.
State-owned energy company Tsentrenergo said the attacks were one of the largest on its facilities since the start of the war in February 2022, and that it had halted operations at its plants in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles targeting energy infrastructure between Friday and Saturday, killing at least seven people.
An overnight drone attack by Ukraine temporarily disrupted power and heating supplies in the southwestern Russia city of Voronezh, governor Alexander Gusev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Meanwhile, work is under way to prepare proposals for a Russian nuclear test, Moscow has said, in what would be its first test of a nuclear weapon in 35 years.
The order was made in response to Donald Trump’s surprise announcement last week that the US would resume testing.
US considering Russian proposal on nuclear arms control, says Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the US is reviewing President Vladimir Putin’s proposals on controls on nuclear weapons.
Lavrov said Russia had been informed of the update through diplomatic channels.
The proposal would see both countries stick to the limitations set out in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) beyond its expiration in February 2026.
“So far, there has been no substantive response from Washington. We were told through diplomatic channels that ‘the issue is under consideration,” Lavrov told RIA Novosti.
Putin has said that Russia will continue to adhere to the treat’s limits for a year after its expiration, provided the US does too.
Russia captures tiny village in eastern Ukraine amid fight for Pokrovsk
Russia said it continues to advance in house-by-house fighting in the strategic town of Pokrovsk where the battle with Ukraine has intensified in recent days.
The tiny village of Vovche in eastern Ukraine was captured on Saturday, according to the defence ministry’s Telegram account. Its inhabitants are said to be 13 people, according to census data from 2001.
Russia’s foreign minister Lavrov says he is ready to meet US secretary of state Rubio
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said he is ready to meet with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, reviving hopes of diplomatic talks on Ukraine.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication,” Lavrov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
“It is important for discussing the Ukrainian issue and promoting the bilateral agenda. That is why we communicate by telephone and are ready to hold face-to-face meetings when necessary.”
A highly-anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin was stalled after Lavrov was said to have taken a hardline stance during a call with Rubio last month. Trump said he did not want to “waste time”.
ICYMI: Moscow says proposals for Russian nuclear test being prepared
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that work is under way on Vladimir Putin’s order to prepare proposals for a possible Russian nuclear test, state news agency Tass reported.
According to Tass, Lavrov said: “Regarding President Vladimir Putin’s instruction at the Security Council meeting on November 5, it has been accepted for implementation and is being worked on. The public will be informed of the results.”
The order was in response to Donald Trump’s surprise announcement last week that the US would resume testing.
Lavrov said Russia had received no clarification from the US regarding Trump’s order.
Russia-US relations have deteriorated sharply in the past few weeks as Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress towards ending the war in Ukraine, has cancelled a planned summit with Putin and imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time since returning to the White House in January.
Watch: Moment 11-year-old girl bravely confronts Putin after uncle injured in war
Lucy Leeson reports:
This is the moment an 11-year-old girl bravely confronts Vladimir Putin about her uncle injured in the war with Ukraine.
The child approached Putin at Russia’s Unity Day service on Tuesday (4 November), telling him how her uncle suffered an injury to the arm that went untreated in hospital before being sent back to fight.
She said “My uncle is currently at the front, he was wounded in the arm. He was in the hospital, they weren’t treating him, and now they’re sending him on a mission, and I would like him to be transferred to a good hospital in Russia.”
Putin replies: “We’ll find him, ok?”
Ukraine drone strike temporarily cuts utilities in Russia’s Voronezh, governor says
An overnight drone attack by Ukraine temporarily disrupted power and heating supplies in the southwestern Russia city of Voronezh, a regional governor has said.
The attack on Voronezh, the administrative centre of the wider Voronezh region, caused no injuries, governor Alexander Gusev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Several drones were suppressed by electronic warfare systems, sparking a fire at a utility facility that was quickly extinguished, he added.
Safety measures led to brief changes in central heating temperatures in some homes and to short power cuts in parts of the city, but supplies later returned to normal, Mr Gusev said.
Fears Pokrovsk will fall ‘within weeks’ as Ukraine sends in its elite units
The battle for Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has reached a pivotal stage, with Russian and Ukrainian forces locked in intense combat, even vying for control of individual residential buildings, according to soldiers and analysts.
This fierce fighting on the ground also underpins a crucial diplomatic struggle, as both Moscow and Kyiv seek to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump of their military advantage and the opposing side’s weakness.
Russia asserts its forces have encircled Pokrovsk and successfully thwarted Ukrainian attempts to re-establish supply lines. However, Ukraine refutes claims of a blockade, stating that fighting continues and its forces are inflicting significant casualties on the Russians.
Ukrainian energy company says Russian attacks on facility were largest
State-owned energy company Tsentrenergo said the attacks were the largest on its facilities since the start of the war in February 2022, and that it had halted operations at its plants in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
“The last strike was not even a month ago and the enemy has now struck all our generating capacity at the same time. The stations are on fire!” Tsentrenergo, which generates about 8 per cent of Ukraine’s power, said in a statement.
“Our generation is now zero.”
Russia has lost 1.15 million troops since invasion, says Ukraine
Ukraine’s General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has reported that Russia has lost around 1,150,100 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, in new figures released on Saturday.
According to the report, Russia has lost 11,330 tanks, 23,544 armoured fighting vehicles and fuel tanks and 34,321 artillery systems during the conflict.
The figures include the loss of 1,538 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,239 air defense systems, 428 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 78,928 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Ukraine’s energy grid stabilised after Russian attacks
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said emergency crews had stabilised the power grid, but warned consumers that further power cuts were needed to allow work to proceed after the attacks.
“We are assessing the aftermath and coordinating what actions to take in order to find alternative power sources to ensure people get their power and heating back,” Ms Hrynchuk said on national television.
News reports and unofficial social media accounts said blackouts persisted in at least two regions – Kharkiv in the northeast and Poltava in central Ukraine.
