Overnight barrage of Russian drones leaves thousands without power across Ukraine

Thousands were left without power on Saturday across several regions in Ukraine after overnight Russian drone strikes hit multiple energy facilities.

In the Kharkiv region, nearly all districts in the city of Chuhuiv were cut off from the electricity grid, according to mayor Halyna Minaieva. In a post on Facebook, she wrote that 10 Russian strikes had hit the city overnight.

One man was killed in the attacks on Kharkiv, in the village of Zelenyi Hai, according to Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Military Administration. He added that a total of 12 towns were struck across the region with 23 drones.

The distribution system operator of the Chernihiv region reported in a Telegram post that 17,000 residents were left without power after a Russian strike hit an energy facility in the Koruukivka district.

Meanwhile, in Russia's Ulyanovsk district, an electrical substation was reportedly hit by Ukrainian drones, according to Russian Telegram channels.

An educational institution in Zaporizhzhia caught fire after it was hit by a Russian drone, the region's Military Administration head Ivan Fedorov reported. He said Russian forces had conducted five strikes on the city, also damaging residential buildings and vehicles.

More civilian infrastructure was also struck in the Poltava region, Volodymyr Kohut, head of the regional Military Administration wrote on Telegram. He said a warehouse and a commercial enterprise were damaged in the attack.

The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down a total of 136 Russian drones during the overnight barrage.

An increase of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of the cold winter months has become a common tactic over the years since its full-scale invasion in 2022, which Ukrainian officials have said is "weaponising winter".

Saturday's attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump in Washington.

During the meeting Trump had signalled that he's leaning against selling him long-range Tomahawk missiles, weaponry that the Ukrainians believe could be a game changer in helping prod Putin to the negotiating table.

Trump said he was hesitant to tap into the US supply, a turnabout after days of suggesting he was seriously weighing sending the missiles to help Ukraine beat back Russia's invasion.