Ukraine vows to retaliate after Russian attacks on power sector

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -Russian drone attacks on power facilities in northern and southern Ukraine overnight left nearly 60,000 customers without electricity, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowing to retaliate by ordering more strikes deep inside Russia.

Three and a half years into the war, Russia and Ukraine have both intensified airstrikes in recent weeks. Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy and transport systems, while Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries and pipelines.

"We will continue our active operations in exactly the way needed for Ukraine's defence. The forces and resources are prepared. New deep strikes have also been planned," Zelenskiy said on X after meeting Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, without giving further details of the plans.

Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said Russian drones had attacked four energy facilities in the Odesa region during the night, and local authorities reported that 29,000 people were left without electricity early on Sunday.

Hardest hit was the port city of Chornomorsk, just outside Odesa, where residential houses and administrative buildings were also damaged, said Oleh Kiper, the governor of the broader Odesa region. 

"Critical infrastructure is operating on generators," Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that one person had been injured as a result of the attack.

The DTEK power company said emergency repair work would begin as soon as the military gave it the all-clear.

In waters close to the large and strategically important port, a civilian bulk carrier flying the flag of Belize sustained minor damage after hitting an unknown explosive device, two sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Chornomorsk is one of three Ukrainian ports operating in a maritime transport corridor linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

POPE'S CEASEFIRE CALL

Russian drones also targeted Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region early on Sunday, damaging energy infrastructure and leaving 30,000 households without electricity, including part of the city of Nizhyn, said local Governor Viacheslav Chaus.

The Ukrainian military said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 142 drones overnight and its air defence forces managed to shoot down 126 of them. However, the drones struck 10 locations.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had hit Ukrainian port infrastructure in the capital Kyiv that it said was used for military purposes.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

The intensified fighting by both sides in recent weeks comes as U.S. President Donald Trump leads a push to end the war, which began in February 2022 when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion.

The Kremlin said on Sunday European powers were hindering Trump's peace efforts and that Russia would continue its operation in Ukraine until Moscow saw real signs that Kyiv was ready for peace.

Moscow has twice launched large-scale attacks in the past week, killing dozens of civilians and destroying their homes and urban infrastructure.

The U.S. special envoy on Ukraine said the deadly Russian attacks undermined Trump's efforts to end the war, while Pope Leo on Sunday called for a ceasefire and dialogue.

"It is time for those responsible to renounce the logic of arms and to take the path of negotiation and peace with the support of the international community," Leo said in his Sunday prayer with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Pavel Polityuk and Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv and Joshua McElwee in Rome; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Gareth Jones and Helen Popper)