Russia struck power plants in Ukraine and a cargo ship

Russia struck two power plants in the Ukrainian regions of Kyiv and Zhytomyr on Wednesday, as well as a cargo ship near the port of Odesa, the Russian Defense Ministry announced. The attacks continue a series of near-daily bombardments of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, amid falling temperatures and approximately one week before the expected resumption of U.S.-mediated peace talks.

According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service and local officials, Russian strikes were also reported in the Poltava, Dnipro, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions, as well as in the capital, Kyiv. Tuesday’s bombardments, carried out with missiles and drones, left large areas of the country without electricity.

In Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, power outages were imposed after an incident outside the region. Separately, a drone attack near Krasnodar caused a fire at a logistics center operated by retailer Ozon.

The parties involved deny deliberately targeting civilians. Moscow had previously suggested that its position on trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and the United States could depend on any Ukrainian military actions on Russia’s National Unity Day, on November 4.