By Fatma Younis
Russian strikes on energy infrastructure across four Ukrainian regions overnight left hundreds of thousands of homes without power, as a rare humanitarian ceasefire in the Kherson region was set to expire Sunday night.
Ceasefire in Kherson region ends
The localized ceasefire, brokered with the help of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo, began Tuesday and allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. It was due to end at 22:59 Ukrainian time (21:00 GMT) on Sunday. The truce had been expanded from Oleshky to the wider Kherson region.
Overnight strikes leave thousands without power
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian strikes hit energy infrastructure in four regions Saturday night, causing widespread outages. In the Vinnytsia region, a strike killed two people, including a 13-year-old girl, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Repair crews worked throughout the day; by early evening most customers in Dnipropetrovsk region had power restored, but over 60,000 remained without electricity. Emergency power cuts have been introduced nationwide, with Kyiv experiencing outages for most of the day and water supply disruptions.
Zelensky calls for more air defense
Zelensky described the intensity of Russian strikes over the past week as "extremely high" and said Russia was trying to exploit a shortage of ballistic missile interceptors. He said Ukraine communicates daily its need for Patriot missile systems — the only effective defense against Russian ballistic missiles — to the U.S., Europe and other partners. He thanked allies for support but urged more immediate aid.
Ukraine strikes Russian missile fuel plant
Meanwhile, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces hit a major missile fuel producer in Russia's Rostov region, causing a fire and damaging four production facilities.
Evacuations from Oleshky
The ceasefire enabled emotional reunions for residents who had been trapped in Oleshky since the early days of the 2022 invasion. Evacuees, including a 94-year-old and a one-year-old, traveled through Russian-occupied territory to southern Russia, then flew to Belarus before crossing Ukraine's northern border. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets provided the age details.
