Russia hits Kyiv with 'massive' wave of drone strikes leaving thousands of homes without power

Nine people were injured when strikes hit the city’s eastern districts, plunging thousands of homes into darkness, mayor Vitali Klitschko said this morning.

It comes after a seven-year-old was killed in a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia.

Last night’s attacks reflect the Kremlin’s increased efforts to destroy Ukraine’s energy facilities ahead of winter.

Read more: Putin admits Russia accidentally shot down Azerbaijani jet in December killing 38 people

Read more: Starmer says issue of India buying Russian oil raised with Modi directly

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of attempting to "create chaos and apply psychological pressure".

Ukraine's Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk accused Russia of "inflicting a massive strike” on the country’s energy infrastructure overnight.

“As soon as safety conditions allow, energy experts will begin clarifying the consequences of the attack and conducting restoration work,” she added.

On the battlefield, Mr Zelenskyy said the most intense fighting remains around Pokrovsk and Dobropillia in the eastern region of Donetsk, where Ukrainian troops have launched a counter-offensive operation he described as "very difficult but very timely - and successful".

"This operation derailed Russia's summer offensive campaign," he said, adding that what he said was Moscow's plan to occupy much of the Donetsk region by November had failed.

Russian commanders have been ordered "to take Pokrovsk at any cost", he said, citing intercepted Russian military communications.

Mr Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has contingency plans to protect its natural gas infrastructure, which has been the target of heavy Russian attacks in recent weeks as winter approaches.

"We have Plan A and Plan B," he said. "Plan A is to rely more on our own extraction. Plan B... is to switch to imports. We understand the volumes, the cost of those imports, and where to get the necessary funds."