Blackouts in Ukraine after wave of Russia missiles

A wave of Russian airstrikes hit Ukraine this morning, with reports of casualties coming in.

The wave of attacks marks the biggest day of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine since the end of January when 11 people died after dozens of buildings were struck in several regions.

A mass missile attack struck an energy facility in the port city of Odesa, triggering power cuts, its governor Maksym Marchenko said. Residential areas were also hit but no casualties were reported, he added.

“About 15” strikes hit Kharkiv city and region, with, “critical infrastructure facilities” and a residential building targeted, regional administration chief Oleg Synegubov said.

In western Ukraine, at least five people were killed in Lviv after a rocket hit their home, the region’s governor Maksym Kozytskyi said on Telegram.

One person has died and two others were injured following drone and missile strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to governor Serhii Lysak.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant cut off from grid, Ukraine says

Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator has stated that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is currently relying on diesel generators following a Russian strike that cut off the last line of communication between the occupied plant and the Ukrainian power system.

According to a statement by Energoatom, rocket attacks caused the communication breakdown. Russia-installed officials in the Moscow-controlled area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region have labelled the halt in electricity supplies from Ukrainian-held territory as “a provocation”. 

The Zaporizhzhia complex has been under Russian occupation since March 2022, but Ukrainian technicians are still operating it. 

There are concerns that repeated shelling by both Ukraine and Russia could result in a significant radiation incident.