A barrage of Russian drones in Ukraine killed at least five people after hitting a train station where more than 100 civilians were gathered to catch a train to Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strikes knocked out power in most of the southern city of Kherson on Tuesday.
They came a day after Ukrainian warplanes damaged a Russian ship moored in the Black Sea off Crimea.
Putin’s forces launched an artillery and drone bombardment of the Kherson region overnight just as some 140 civilians were waiting for a train in the region's capital city.
The shelling killed one policeman and injured two other police officers, as well as two civilians.
More than 100 people who were waiting for the train at the time of the attack arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning, national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.
The attack on the Kherson region hit residential areas and a shopping centre as well as striking the power grid, leaving around 70% of households in Kherson city without electricity during the winter cold, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
It was not immediately possible to estimate when power might be restored, he said.
Russia has frequently tried to damage Ukrainian morale by striking at power supplies.
In Odesa, another major city in southern Ukraine, the drone assault killed two people and wounded three, including a 17-year-old man, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Ukraine's air force said it intercepted 32 out of the 46 drones that Russia fired.
It came as Ukraine rebutted claims by Moscow that Russia has taken control of an eastern town after months of fighting.
The commander of Ukraine's armed forces said Kyiv’s troops remained in control of Maryinka despite Russia’s claims. The town has been reduced to ruins after many months of fighting.
Valery Zaluzhnyi acknowledged that the town was largely destroyed, but said Ukrainian troops were still positioned on its northern flank.
Capturing Maryinka would amount to Moscow's most significant battlefield gain since May.
Commander Zaluzhnyi said Russian forces had for two years been bearing down on Maryinka, a short drive from the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk
“At this time today, our troops are still in northern areas," Zaluzhnyi said. "Our troops had readied a defensive line outside this locality, but I can say that this locality no longer exists."
He said Ukrainian forces were resolved to defend any corner of the country, be it in Maryinka or Bakhmut or Avdiikva, two other towns in the country's east subject to months of fighting.
Bakhmut was captured by Russian troops in May and Ukrainian forces have been trying to secure nearby villages in a counteroffensive launched soon after.
Avdiivka, adjacent to Maryinka, remains in Ukrainian hands, but has been under fierce attack for two months.
Putin said taking the town would enable Russian troops to be able to operate in a wider area.
