Missiles hit the substations linking Kyiv to nuclear plants, three days before fresh talks in Abu Dhabi
Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones according to Zelensky, and five provinces were without power on Saturday.
Overnight from Friday to Saturday, Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones at Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The air force shot down only four of those missiles and 149 drones, The Moscow Times reported. Targets included high-voltage substations that carry power from the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine, the Kyiv Post wrote. Ukraine's energy ministry said five provinces were without electricity, VRT NWS reported: Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Kharkiv.
In Kyiv the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro was damaged again, as were residential buildings and a kindergarten. Zelensky said the capital faces serious problems with electricity, water and heating as temperatures hover around freezing. Casualty figures vary: Zelensky spoke of nine injured, including a child, while Al Jazeera reported at least two dead and about a dozen wounded nationwide. Russia's defence ministry described a massive strike on military-industrial targets and on energy and transport infrastructure.
Zelensky said Moscow is ramping up pressure ahead of US-mediated talks scheduled for 10 and 11 November in Abu Dhabi. He asked Washington for more Patriot interceptors, which he said are in seriously short supply. According to Al Jazeera, he described some of the missiles as North Korean KN-23s. Donald Trump said on Thursday, after meeting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, that a deal is close.