Million in Ukraine lose power after Russian attack

There is no electricity in the second-largest city of Kharkiv. More than 53,000 households in Odesa are without power. At least five people have been reported killed and 14 wounded. Russia said it was revenge for recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

The DniproHES in Zaporizhzhia was hit eight times according to Ukrainian officials. Video footage appeared to show the dam on fire, but authorities say there is no threat of an imminent breach. A trolleybus which was crossing the dam at the time caught fire after a missile strike, killing the driver. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost connection to the main power line for almost five hours on Friday.

The plant, however, continued to receive external electricity for reactor cooling from its only remaining back-up power line. Russia said the assault on Ukraine#39;s power grid was part of a series of revenge attacks against Kyiv for its earlier incursions into Russian territory. At least 17 people, including a child, were injured by falling debris from a Russian air strike on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Moscow has previously carried out strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure plunging millions of people into darkness and depriving them of heat, power and water.

Attacks during the autumn and winter of 2022 left 17 million Ukrainians without a regular supply of electricity for extended periods. President Zelensky has often described the Russian attacks on power stations as energy terrorism. The White House condemned Thursday#39;s attacks and renewed its call for urgent additional air defences for Ukraine as soon as possible. Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two top Russian commanders.