Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin’s air strikes target power grid and home for elderly

The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of five groups and one person for enabling payments between Russia and North Korea to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine and Pyongyang’s weapons programmes, the Treasury Department has said.

“The growing financial cooperation between Russia and (North Korea) directly threatens international security and the global financial system,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

“Russia has become increasingly dependent on the DPRK as it faces mounting battlefield losses and increasing international isolation.”

The new sanctions expose how Russian president Vladimir Putin’s government uses illegal financial schemes to help North Korea access the international banking system, in violation of UN Security Council sanctions, the Treasury said.

The US and Ukraine, as well as independent analysts, say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is helping Russia by supplying rockets and missiles in return for economic and other military assistance.

Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy sector and hit an old people’s centre in the city of Sumy in a new wave of airstrikes on Thursday, killing at least one civilian, Ukrainian officials said.

A UN monitoring body said attacks on the power grid probably violated humanitarian law while the International Energy Agency said in a report that Ukraine‘s electricity supply shortfall in the critical winter months could reach about a third of expected peak demand.

During a daytime strike on the northern city of Sumy, a Russian guided bomb hit a five-storey building, regional and military officials said.

One person was killed and 12 wounded, the interior ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Women have been disproportionately hit by power cuts caused by Russian air strikes on vital infrastruture, a new UN report says.

Attacks on electricity infrastructure facilities this year have led to the deaths of 18 civilians and 84 being injured, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Drivers, older people and those with limited mobility are also among those to have suffered from blackouts, it says.

“From the onset of the electricity shortage, living conditions in Ukraine deteriorated, as cooking, cleaning, and food storage dependent on electricity became more difficult,” the report says.

“Since women in Ukraine spend substantially more time per week on unpaid domestic work, they have been disproportionately affected, with half of women reporting that electricity cuts have had a major impact on food preparation and storage.

“Individuals with low mobility, older persons and families with small children struggled to safely leave or reach apartments in high-rise buildings with elevator service cuts.

“Widespread traffic-light outages created road hazards for drivers and pedestrians, while commuters faced challenges reaching their employment due to public transport disruptions.”

Russian forces have taken control of the village of Heorhiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the RIA state news agency has cited the Defence Ministry as saying.

It would be the latest in a series of reports by Russia of gains in eastern Ukraine, although Reuters could not independently verify it.

In case you missed it: The Independent’s frontline reporter Askold Krushelnycky looks at how death tolls on both sides are assessed:

Germany is set to approve close to €400m in additional military aid to Ukraine, according to a finance ministry letter.

The funds are in addition to around €8bn budgeted for Ukraine in 2024 and a fresh package of tanks, vehicles, radars, weapons and other equipment.

Germany is Ukraine’s biggest supporter in Europe in terms of military aid.

“In view of the continuously deteriorating military situation in Ukraine, there is a serious risk that Ukraine, without significantly increased material support, could be defeated in its defence campaign,” the letter said.

Following a request by the defence ministry, the finance ministry in the letter is asking for the approval of the extra expenditure from the budget committee of the lower house of parliament.

The funds will be used to buy ammunition, fighting vehicles, drones and protective equipment, among other items.

German aid to Ukraine will be cut to €4bn next year, according to the draft of the 2025 budget, as the country hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets approved by the Group of Seven.

Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy facilities in a new wave of air strikes, Ukrainian officials have said, despite a UN monitoring body saying attacks on the power grid probably violated humanitarian law.

Regional officials said civilian infrastructure had also been damaged, and the International Energy Agency warned of an electricity shortfall in Ukraine this winter.

Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down all 42 drones and one of four missiles launched by Russia.

Three people were killed in shelling near Krasnopillia in the Sumy region on Wednesday evening and two were wounded in shelling of the frontline region on Thursday that damaged a medical institution, local prosecutors said.

Ukraine’s energy ministry said power cuts had been introduced in 10 regions, and the IEA said in a report that electricity supply shortfall in the winter months could reach about a third of expected peak demand.

The European Union said a fuel power plant was being dismantled in Lithuania to be rebuilt in Ukraine.

Kyiv says the targeting of its energy system is a war crime, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for four Russian officials and military officers for the bombing of civilian power infrastructure. Moscow says power infrastructure is a legitimate military target.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is heading to Ukraine tomorrow, with the promise of €160m (£134m) in fresh energy funds to heat homes, hospitals and schools through the winter.

Much of the funds will come the proceeds of the Russian assets held in the EU. “It is only right that Russia pays for the destruction it caused,” she said.

Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ramping up drone production by around 10 times to nearly 1.4 million this year to ensure Russian armed forces grab victory in Ukraine.

“In total, about 140,000 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types were delivered to the armed forces in 2023,” Putin said. “This year, the production of drones is planned to increase significantly. Well, to be more precise, almost 10 times.”

“Whoever reacts faster to these demands on the battlefield wins,” Mr Putin said at a meeting in St Petersburg about developing drone production.

Since Russia sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine in February 2022, both Russia and Ukraine have bought drones abroad and ramped up their own production for a range of targets - from artillery to energy infrastructure.