- Inevitable Madrid continue Champions League love affair
- Nissan net profit nearly doubles despite China challenges
- Spain vows to block BBVA's hostile bid for rival bank
- Olympic torch relay sets off in Marseille
- Blackstone wins bidding war for UK music rights firm
- Famed Thai holiday isles suffer water shortages after heatwave
- Nissan annual net profit nearly doubles on-year
- Putin says nuclear forces 'always' on alert in Victory Day speech
- Chinese cities lift curbs on buying homes as property crisis bites
- Malaysian team pulls out of season opener after footballer acid attack
- Japan's Mount Fuji barrier delayed
- Markets' rally stutters as traders eye rate cut outlook
- Spanish bank BBVA goes hostile in Sabadell takeover bid
- S. Korea president admits 'shortcomings' in rare address
- Romania opens first crowd-funded hospital
- Swift and Beyonce show the lucrative pop-fashion liaison
- Struggling Crusaders boosted by return of All Blacks pair
- Kewell seeks coaching redemption in AFC Champions League final
- Malaysian team pulls out of showpiece after footballer acid attack
- Israel shells Rafah as Biden vows arms suspension
- Taylor Swift European dates kick off in Paris
- Moscow children celebrate 'victory' amid patriotic education drive
- Hurricanes braced for breakdown storm in Super Rugby showdown
- Chinese city lifts curbs on buying homes as property crisis bites
- Crespo-Kewell Champions League rivalry renewed in Asian final
- S. Korea vows strong Ukraine ties, smooth Russia relations
- Japan's former world figure skating champion Uno, 26, retires
- Battling Brunson fires Knicks over Pacers
- Asian markets mixed as traders eye rate cuts
- Sweden's Eurovision brings kitsch in the shadow of Gaza
- Marquez eyes French MotoGP victory but plays down title talk
- Bank of England set to hold rate at 16-year high
- Sport merely a propaganda tool to Russia, says Ukraine minister
- 'Constant terror' in key Darfur city as fighting closes in
- School's out: how climate change threatens education
- Putin to mark Victory Day emboldened by Ukraine gains
- Former Fiji PM Bainimarama handed one-year prison sentence
- China's Xi in Hungary to celebrate 'new era' with Orban
- Malaysian team pulls out of football season-opener after player assaults
- Canada regularization of undocumented migrants in jeopardy
- US forges new 'battery belt' in hopes of electric future
- Biden threatens to stop arm shipments if Israel invades Rafah
- Nuggets' Jokic scoops third NBA Most Valuable Player award
- Alleged killer of Australian, US surfers to be prosecuted
- Biden says will stop some arm shipments if Israel invades Rafah
- Men or bears? Women's safety debate pops on social media
- Bayern's Neuer laments 'brutal, bitter' Champions League howler
- 'Absolute disaster': Bayern boss Tuchel slams late offside call
- Three things about Real Madrid match-winner Joselu
- N. Macedonia set for rocky ties with EU neighbours as opposition wins vote
CMSC | -1.53% | 24.14 | $ | |
RYCEF | 2.07% | 5.32 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.1% | 56.25 | $ | |
NGG | 0.32% | 69.84 | $ | |
RELX | 0.12% | 42.94 | $ | |
RIO | -1.48% | 69.02 | $ | |
AZN | 0.84% | 76.97 | $ | |
BTI | 0.63% | 30.16 | $ | |
VOD | -0.35% | 8.46 | $ | |
GSK | -0.02% | 44.14 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.78% | 24.43 | $ | |
BP | -0.13% | 37.53 | $ | |
SCS | 0.86% | 12.81 | $ | |
JRI | -0.26% | 11.565 | $ | |
BCC | 1.91% | 133.21 | $ | |
BCE | 0.48% | 33.62 | $ |
Russia hits Ukrainian energy sites in 'massive' overnight attack
Russia launched a "massive" missile strike at Ukraine overnight, damaging four power plants in the latest barrage targeting the country's energy supply, officials in Kyiv said on Saturday.
Two people were killed and at least 10 more wounded in Russian shelling.
Moscow has launched some of its largest ever strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities in recent months, knocking out a significant chunk of production, and triggering blackouts and energy rationing across the country.
Ukraine also fired more than 60 drones at southern Russia overnight, Moscow said, in one of its largest overnight drone attacks. Kyiv claimed to have hit two oil refineries and a military air base.
"Russian armed forces staged another massive missile attack on Ukraine," the Ukrainian army said in its regular morning update.
"The enemy has once again attacked the country's energy infrastructure. In particular, facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions were attacked. There is damage to equipment," Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in a Facebook post.
The Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions are in Ukraine's west, bordering the EU and hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines.
Ukraine's air force said Moscow had fired 34 missiles, of which 21 were shot down.
Kyiv says Moscow is escalating its attacks from the air and on land ahead of nationwide celebrations on May 9, when Russia marks victory in World War II, and while Ukraine awaits the arrival of crucial US weapons.
- Energy rationing -
The DTEK power operator said equipment at four of its thermal power plants was "severely damaged" in the overnight strikes.
State electricity operator Ukrenergo said it had disconnected its main overhead power line in the west of the country as a preventative measure.
Officials asked energy users to limit their power usage.
"We ask all consumers to consume electricity sparingly. Industry is asked to maximise electricity imports and use alternative power sources," Ukrenergo said in a statement.
The head of the western Lviv region called on residents not to use kettles, irons, washing machines and microwaves between 7:00pm and 10:00pm to preserve limited energy supplies.
Separate shelling on a village close to the Russian border in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed one person on Saturday, Ukraine's state emergency services agency said.
One person was also killed and eight wounded in shelling of the southern Kherson region, Ukraine's national police said.
The overnight missile strikes injured two people in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, regional governor Sergiy Lysak said, and wounded one in the northeastern Kharkiv region, emergency services said.
- 68 drones downed -
Ukraine also launched its own massive drone attack on Russia's southern Krasnodar region overnight.
A Ukrainian defence source told AFP its drones had hit two oil refineries and a military airfield in the region, just east of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
"Ukrainian drones struck the atmospheric distillation columns of the Ilsky and Slovyansky refineries. These are key technological facilities," the source said.
Russian officials in the Krasnodar region reported a fire at an oil refinery in the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban.
The refinery partially suspended operations as a result, Russian state media reported, citing a company representative.
Videos and photos on social media showed a large fire raging overnight at the site after a series of blasts.
Moscow earlier said that Ukraine had launched one of its largest ever attempted overnight drone attacks on the Krasnodar region.
"Air defences destroyed and intercepted 66 Ukrainian drones over the territory of the Krasnodar region and two over the Crimean peninsula," the defence ministry said in a statement.
The governor of Russia's Belgorod border region said later on Saturday that five people were injured when a Ukrainian drone fell on a road in a village a few kilometres from the border.
Kyiv has hit several Russian oil refineries in the western part of the country in recent months, despite reports of concern in Washington that the strikes could be seen as escalatory and might drive up global oil prices.
Ukraine says targeting Russia's vital energy sector is legitimate as it is a source of fuel and funds for the Russian army.
J.Bergmann--BTB