Russia targets energy supplies in strikes on 15 regions in Ukraine as 3 killed: live

Russia’s Saratov airport lifted flight restrictions today after a Ukrainian drone attack that reportedly caused damage to residential areas and injured a woman.

The attack on Saratov’s regional airport involved Ukrainian drones that were allegedly intercepted and destroyed by Russia’s air defence systems.

The drones were reportedly targeting the airport, but the air defence systems managed to neutralise them before they could cause significant damage, local authorities said.

The debris from the destroyed drones, however, caused damage to a residential area in Saratov and reportedly led to injuries.

The airport imposed flight restrictions during the incident, but these restrictions were lifted later in the day once the situation was under control.

Russian forces unleashed a massive drone and missile barrage on Ukraine early on Monday, and at least three people were reported killed in the attack, which appeared to target energy infrastructure.

The attack began at around midnight and continued after dawn in what appeared to be Russia’s biggest attack against Ukraine in weeks.

According to the Ukrainian air force, there were multiple groups of Russian drones moving towards eastern, northern, southern, and central regions of Ukraine, followed by multiple cruise and ballistic missiles.

Explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, and power and water supplies in the city have been disrupted, the city’s mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, said.

Another person was killed in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where the attack sparked multiple fires, regional head Serhii Lysak said. One person was rescued from under the rubble, he said.

One person was also killed in the south-eastern, partially occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. He said an infrastructure facility was hit and caught fire.

In the southern Mykolaiv region, three people were injured, regional head Vitalii Kim reported. He also urged local residents to use “points of invincibility” in the region.

In the outlying Kyiv region, one person was injured in an attack that hit unspecified infrastructure objects and residential houses, regional head Ruslan Kravchenko said.

Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, introduced emergency blackouts, saying in an online statement that “energy workers throughout the country work 24/7 to restore light in the homes of Ukrainians”.

A Ukrainian drone attempted to strike an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, a city northeast of Moscow this morning, according to regional governor Mikhail Yevrayev via Telegram.

He reported that there were no casualties or damage from the incident.

Meanwhile, parts of Kyiv experienced power and water outages following a large-scale Russian air attack on Monday, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko via Telegram.

Ukraine’s largest private energy producer, DTEK, announced the implementation of emergency power outages in response to the attacks.

During Monday morning hours, new explosions were heard near Kyiv, which appeared to be the sound of air defence systems responding to an air attack, according to Reuters witnesses.

These blasts came after several previous waves of attacks and explosions.

Kyiv, along with the rest of Ukraine, was under air raid alerts, with the Ukrainian air force warning of a potential large-scale Russian assault.

The US State Department confirmed that an American citizen was among those injured in the Russian strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, which also killed British safety adviser Ryan Evans and injured two Reuters journalists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned the presence of American citizens at the hotel, stating: “My condolences go out to the family and friends. This is a daily Russian terror that continues, because Russia has the ability to continue.”

The identities of the injured American and other affected individuals have not been disclosed.

Ukraine’s military reported a widespread air raid alert across the country this morning due to a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack, following multiple waves of overnight drone assaults, Reuters reported.

The Ukrainian air force noted the launch of several missiles and numerous drones, but by 0500GMT, no explosions were reported.

“Up to 10 drones were destroyed on their approach to the city,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration said, on Telegram.

Despite the attacks, there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, and no response from Russia.

Both countries continue to deny targeting civilians, claiming their attacks focus on critical infrastructure.

Ukraine has reportedly captured at least 247 Russian soldiers since launching an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast on 6 August, according to a Washington Post analysis of visual evidence, including over 130 photos and videos.

Some of the captured troops identified themselves as conscripts, raising political issues for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as these men are often young, poorly trained, and have not been promised combat roles, the outlet reported.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a video of Russian soldiers surrendering en masse like that,” Dara Massicot, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was quoted as saying.

“Having conscripts in combat undermines the social contract between Russian families and the government that has held under Putin’s leadership since 1999,” Massicot added.

The footage spans locations over 22 kilometres inside Russia and shows groups of captured soldiers, with some videos depicting at least 40 soldiers captured near the Sudzha border crossing.

Both the Ukrainian and Russian governments have not revealed the number of Russian soldiers captured during the Kursk offensive.

A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Saratov region on Monday caused damage to homes and led to flight restrictions, according to Russian officials and news agencies.

The regional governor, Roman Basurgin, reported on Telegram that falling debris from drones, intercepted by Russia’s air defence systems, damaged a residential complex in the city of Saratov, and a woman was also injured in the incident.

Russia’s defence ministry stated that its air defence systems shot down nine drones over the Saratov region, which is located about 900 kilometres (560 miles) from Ukraine’s border, according to Reuters.

According to Russia’s RIA news agency, flights were limited at the Saratov regional airport, as reported by the airport’s press service.