War in Ukraine: Are Putin and Zelensky ready for peace talks?
The Ukrainian port of Odesa has been left without power after Russia targeted two energy facilities using Iranian-made drones.
The attack left around 1.5 million people with no power during a brutal winter.
“The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Unfortunately the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore electricity. It doesn’t take hours, but a few days.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s army advanced on occupied Melitopol, a strategically located city in the country’s southeast, on Saturday evening. The Russian-installed authorities said a missile attack killed two people and injured 10, while the exiled mayor of the city said scores of “invaders” were killed.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, said air defence systems destroyed two missiles, while four reached their targets. At least 10 people sustained injuries in the attack.
He said a “recreation centre” where people were dining was destroyed in the attack with HIMARS missiles.
