Russian strikes on apartment building, energy sites in eastern Ukraine kill four

In short:

Russian strikes on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and on energy infrastructure in Kharkiv have killed four people.

A barrage of drones and missiles on Saturday struck at least 25 locations across the country, the Ukrainian air force said.

Russian authorities, meanwhile, said they repelled 82 Ukrainian drones, with two civilians sustaining injuries.

A Russian drone has slammed into an apartment building in eastern Ukraine, killing three people and wounding 12 others, Ukrainian authorities reported.

The attack took place early on Saturday, local time, in Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth-largest city.

It was part of a large Russian missile and drone barrage across the country that targeted power infrastructure.

wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponise winter”.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in an X post that the strikes damaged “several major energy facilities” around Kharkiv and Kyiv, as well as in the central Poltava region.

Thermal power plants operated by Ukraine’s state energy company, Centrenergo, were again knocked offline by the night-time strikes, the company said in a statement on Saturday. 

Centrenergo's three plants in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions were damaged by Russian attacks last year and subsequently restored.

Russian forces, meanwhile, repelled a “massive” night-time strike on energy facilities in the southern Volgograd region, Governor Andrei Bocharov said on Saturday, two days after Ukraine said that it hit a key oil refinery there with long-range drones. 

Mr Bocharov added that the strike knocked out power in parts of the region's north-west, but caused no casualties. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its forces shot down 82 Ukrainian drones during the night, including eight over the Volgograd region. 

Two people were wounded in the neighbouring Saratov region after a Ukrainian drone strike blew out windows in an apartment building, according to regional Governor Roman Busarin.

Fighting for Pokrovsk

The city of Pokrovsk sits along the eastern front line, part of what has been dubbed the "fortress belt" of Donetsk, a line of heavily fortified cities crucial to Ukraine's defence of the region. 

It could also be a key point in influencing Washington's stance and sway the course of peace negotiations, analysts say.

Russia troops advanced near Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad, according to the Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday, saying both were encircled. 

It also said Russian forces surrounded Ukrainian defenders in Kupiansk, a key railway hub in the north-eastern Kharkiv region.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to Moscow's statements, which could not be independently verified.

AP