Russian strikes cut power to thousands in Ukraine as Kherson ceasefire expires

A humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine's Kherson region that has allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky is due to end on Sunday night.

While the localised ceasefire on the front line has held since it was implemented last week, fighting has continued elsewhere.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had struck energy infrastructure in four regions overnight on Saturday into Sunday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

Another overnight strike killed two people, including a 13-year-old girl, in the Vinnytsia region, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine hit a major missile fuel producer in Russia's Rostov region, which caused a fire and damaged four production facilities, Zelensky said.

In Ukraine, repair works to restore power continued throughout the day. Most customers in the Dnipropetrovsk region had their connections restored by early evening, but more than 60,000 were still without power, the governor said.

Because of regular attacks on energy infrastructure, emergency power cuts have been introduced across the country. Even in the capital Kyiv, electricity is cut off for most of the day. Water supplies are also disrupted.

Zelensky said in a social media post that the intensity of Russian strikes has been "extremely high" over the past week, adding that Russia was "trying to take maximum advantage of the shortage of ballistic missile interceptors".

He added that "every day" Ukraine communicated its need for Patriot missiles - the only effective weapon for downing Russia's deadly ballistic missiles - to the US, Europe and other partners. He thanked countries for their support so far and longer-term commitments, but calling for more immediate aid.

On the front line, a localised ceasefire in the Kherson region was due to end at 22:59 Ukrainian time (21:00 GMT) on Sunday.

The limited pause in hostilities, which started on Tuesday, was brokered with the help of US First Lady Melania Trump along with Pope Leo XIV.

It was originally confined to the city of Oleshky, which has been occupied by Russia since the first days of the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and was soon after expanded across the wider region of Kherson.

Oleshky had been trapped on one side by the Dnipro river and the other by Russian forces, with routes out mined and subject to drone attack. Residents stuck there were suffering shortages of food, water and electricity.