Ukraine updates: Russia strikes cause power outages

Over the course of its war against Ukraine, Russia built up a network of agents to carry out acts of sabotage in European countries.

A study sheds light on the Kremlin’s tactics and offers recommendations to the EU.

“The study situates Moscow’s tactics against the backdrop of its full-scale war on Ukraine, showing that hybrid operations are not a side theatre but a central pillar of Russian strategy,” researchers wrote.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had the most to gain from a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. And he did.

After talks with the US president, Orban said his country received an exemption from US sanctions on imports of Russian oil and gas.

“We asked the president to lift the sanctions,” Orban said, adding that Hungary is “in a significantly different situation than other European countries.” 

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s main military goal was to seize Pokrovsk.

Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that Ukrainian intelligence estimates “314 Russians inside the city itself,” an increase from “up to 200” reported at the end of October.

Zelenskyy said in the last three days, Russia launched around 220 assaults near Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian stronghold in eastern Donetsk.

“It is very important for Russia to do everything possible to actually capture Pokrovsk,” said Zelenskyy.

According to the Ukrainian president, Moscow is determined to seize the city to show the US that it can achieve battlefield gains.

Gaining control over Pokrovsk would put Russian President Vladimir Putin a step closer to his goal of occupying the entire Donbas region, Ukraine’s industrial and coal-producing center.

Despite heavy fighting, Zelenskyy noted that Russian forces have made “no progress” near the neighboring cities of Siversk, Kramatorsk, or Kostyantynivka. 

A large-scale Russian strike targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, prompting outages in several regions, authorities said.

In a post on Facebook, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk wrote that “the enemy is massively attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure again. Because of this, emergency power outages have been introduced in a number of regions of Ukraine,” without specifics of it.

“Despite the enemy’s plans, Ukraine will have light and heat this winter,” Grynchuk added.

In recent months, Moscow has ramped up its assaults on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, damaging natural gas sites that supply most of the nation’s heating fuel.

Experts warn that Ukraine risks heating outages as winter approaches. 

A major Russian assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused power cuts in several regions, the country’s energy minister said on Saturday.

Plus, Russian forces have amplified efforts to capture Pokrovsk, an important stronghold in eastern Ukraine. 

Thank you for joining as we bring you the latest on the war in Ukraine.