At least three dead and thousands without power as Russia hits Ukraine with wave of deadly strikes
It comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed he is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia
Tens of thousands have been left without power this morning after Russia launched a series of deadly strikes on Ukraine.
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At least three people were killed and a further 13 were injured as the Kremlin launched strikes on the city of Balakliia in Kharkiv.
The attacks came as part of a series of strikes across Ukraine on Sunday night, one of which caused a fire at the port in Odesa, leaving 36,500 households without power.
Oleksii Kuleba, deputy prime minister for the restoration of Ukraine, said: "One of the ports is experiencing power outages, and specialists are already working to restore power."
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Ukraine's state emergency service added: "The missiles hit a densely built residential neighbourhood. According to preliminary data, three people were killed and 13 others were injured, including four children."
It comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed he is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia, which bring 1,200 Ukrainians home.
"We are ... counting on the resumption of POW exchanges," Mr Zelensky wrote on X. "Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this."
Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council, said on Saturday he held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming exchanges.
He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow did not immediately comment.
The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps.
Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges have been sporadic.
Mr Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalise procedural and organisational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians could "celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home - at the family table and next to their relatives".