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At least three people have been killed and dozens injured across Ukraine in what Ukrainian authorities have described as one of the largest since the beginning of the war.
Russia’s overnight attack was a combined attack of 596 drones and 36 different type missiles according to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Two of the victims were killed in strikes on the capital which was the main target during the night while one women died and eight others were injured in attacks on the Kyiv region, regional police said on Saturday.
The attack included five Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, 23 Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles, four Iskander-M ballistic missiles and four Kh-59/69 guided air-launched missiles.
According to Ukraine its defence forces shot down 558 of the drones and 19 of the missiles. However 22 locations were hit as well as 17 from falling debris.
The attack which main target was Kyiv left some 500,000 people as well as at least 100,000 people living in the Kyiv region without electricity on Saturday morning as temperatures are expected to be between 4 and 8 degrees. However, according to private energy supplier DTEK power has been restored to more or less 360,000 of its customers.
Kyiv and its western allies say Russia is purposely targeting the Ukrainian energy sector to deprive civilians of heating, light and running water for a fourth winter in a row, waging a psychological war on the population.
Ukraine strikes Russian oil terminal
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Ukraine struck a major oil terminal according to its owner, Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), leaving one of its three mooring points damaged forcing it to stop operations. Andriy Kovalenko, Ukraine’s counter-disinformation chief also confirmed the attack.
Kovalenko wrote on Telegram “Ukrainian special forces worked on the Russian Federation, its energy sector and infrastructure. In particular, naval drones managed to destroy one of the three oil tanker berths of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the Novorossiysk area,”.
Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries and terminals have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war.
Ukraine representatives travel to US to work on peace plan
The latest attack on Kyiv comes as Ukrainian peace negotiators headed by Rustem Umierov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, are set to meet their US counterparts in the United States this weekend. According to a Facebook post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he is expecting a report this Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office while discussing the Peace Plan in an interview, told RTP that Ukraine is ready to engage in a peace process, but Russia must also show clear signs that it wants to bring the war to an end. Podolyak stressed that Ukraine is prepared to sign the revised 19-point document, building on the proposal initially put forward by US President Donald Trump.
A US delegation is then expected to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the latter half of next week.