Ukraine was working Saturday to restore electricity to hospitals, heating systems and other critical infrastructure in major cities after Russia's latest wave of attacks on the power grid. Read FRANCE 24's liveblog below to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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8:01pm: Ukraine says it restored power to almost 6 million people in last 24 hours
Ukraine has managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 24 hours after massive Russian strikes against the electricity generating system, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
"Repair work continues without a break after yesterday's terrorist attack," he said in a video address.
4:49pm: Russia denounces Moldova's ban of TV channels as 'political censorship'
Russia on Saturday denounced a decision by neighbouring Moldova to temporarily ban six television channels as "political censorship".
The small ex-Soviet state of Moldova accused the channels of airing "incorrect information" about the country and Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
4:41pm: Russian artillery can be heard throughout the city of Donetsk
Donetsk, a Russian stronghold in the Donbas region, has been on alert due to strikes launched by Ukraine in the dead of night. These strikes have increased over the past two weeks. The sound of Russian artillery can also be heard throughout the deserted city streets.
According to Russia, 36 civilians have died in the Donetsk region since the beginning of the month. Russia says the blame lies with NATO, which has been supplying Ukraine with weapons. The threat, however, also comes from inside the Russian-controlled territory.
FRANCE 24's Kimberley Lestieux tells us more.
4:30pm: Moldova moves closer to breaking dependence on Russian gas, deputy PM says
Moldova has reached a short-term energy deal that would help wean one of Europe's poorest countries off its dependence on Russian natural gas, a senior official said on Saturday.
The former Soviet republic of 2.5 million, which faces soaring inflation amid Russia's war on neighbouring Ukraine, has traditionally been heavily reliant on Russian gas.
But Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said state gas firm Moldovagaz would buy 100 million cubic metres of gas from domestic supplier Energocom this month. It would be the first time that Moldova has not consumed any of the gas it has bought from Russia, he wrote on his Telegram channel.
12:37pm: Russia says it is building a shield over Zaporizhzhia nuclear storage site
A shield is being set up over a storage site for spent nuclear waste at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine to protect it from shelling and drones, a Russian-installed official said on Saturday.
Video footage published by Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia province, showed workers mounting a screen of what appeared to be some kind of sheeting on wires above dozens of concrete cylinders about 5 metres (16 feet) high. "For now, it will protect from shrapnel and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) thrown from drones. But later on it will be substantial," he said.
Fighting over Europe's largest nuclear power station in 10 months of conflict has raised fears of a possible Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of recklessly shelling the plant, whose six reactors are all offline.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call on Tuesday with reporters that Russia remains in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is trying to broker a demilitarised zone around the power station.
11:42am: Ukrainian shells kill three in Russian-controlled village
Ukrainian rockets have killed three civilians in the Russian-controlled town of Shchastia in Ukraine's Luhansk province, according to Russian-appointed regional authorities.
In a post on Telegram, Russian-backed Luhansk officials at what they call the Joint Centre of Control and Coordination said US-made HIMARS rockets had killed three people, wounded five more, and destroyed four houses.
11:36am: Air raid alert sounds across Ukraine
Air raid sirens wailed across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, on Saturday, officials said, a day after Russia carried out a massive missile strike on critical infrastructure.
"Please go to the shelters!" Kyiv city's military administration said on Telegram.
Belarusian social media account Hajun, which monitors military activity in Belarus, said several Russian warplanes had been spotted flying above Belarus to the north of Ukraine.
9:59am: Ukrainians anticipate a new Russian ground offensive
Reporting from Kyiv, FRANCE 24's correspondent Astrig Agopian noted that the Ukrainian air defence system was able to stop 37 out of the 40 rockets that targeted the Kyiv region on Friday. "A lot of people here are very happy for the air defence system and thankful that it seems to be working better and better. However, there is now a new worry that Russia might launch a new offensive", she said, before adding that since Ukrainian seems to be winning the air war, Russia might attack on the ground.
9:51am: Putin meets top military brass to discuss Ukraine strategy
President Vladimir Putin has held extensive meetings with the military top brass overseeing Russia's campaign in Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up bombardments, the Kremlin said Saturday.
"On Friday, the president spent the whole day at the army staff involved in the special military operation in Ukraine," a statement said.
He held a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and held "separate discussions with commanders" from different defence branches, it said.
"I would like to hear your proposals on our actions in the short –and medium-term," Putin was shown as saying in the meeting by Russia's state television.
9:30am: Dead boy pulled from rubble of latest Russian hit on Ukraine
Emergency crews pulled the body of a toddler from the rubble in a pre-dawn search for survivors on Saturday of a Russian missile strike that tore through an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.
The missile was one of what Ukrainian authorities said were 16 that got through air defenses among the 76 missiles fired Friday in the latest Russian attack targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, part of Moscow's strategy to leave Ukrainian civilians and soldiers in the dark and cold this winter.
Governor Valentyn Reznichenko of the Dnipropetrovsk region, where Kryvyi Rih is located, wrote on the Telegram social media app that "rescuers retrieved the body of a 1-1/2-year-old boy from under the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian rocket.” In all, four people were killed in the strike and 13 injured, authorities said.
7:26am: Kyiv mayor says metro service, water supply back after Russian strikes
The mayor of Ukraine's capital said early Saturday the city's metro system was back in service and that all residents had been reconnected to water supply a day after the latest wave of Russian air strikes on critical infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials said Russia fired more than 70 missiles on Friday in one of its biggest attacks since the Kremlin's February 24 invasion, forcing emergency blackouts nationwide.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also said heating had been restored to half the city and electricity had been returned to two-thirds.
"But schedules of emergency outages are being implemented," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Because the deficit of electricity is significant."
6:48am: Kyiv warns of long cuts after Russian missiles batter grid
Ukraine's capital came under one of the biggest attacks of the war on Friday as Russia's invading forces fired dozens of missiles across the country, triggering widespread power outages, Ukrainian officials said.
Gunfire from air defense systems and thudding explosions combined with the wail of air-raid sirens as the barrage targeted critical infrastructure in cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporhizhzhia. The head of the Ukrainian armed forces said they intercepted 60 of 76 missiles launched.
“My beautiful sunshine. What am I going to do without you?” wailed Svytlana Andreychuk in the arms of Red Cross staffers. Her sister Olha was one of at least three people killed when a missile slammed into a four-story apartment building in Kryvyi Rih.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
