Russian attack knocks out power to 30,000 customers, Ukraine says

MOSCOW/KYIV — Russian forces attacked Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv with bombs on Monday, knocking out power to 30,000 customers in three districts, local officials said.

The regional governor Oleh Syniehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said Russian forces used guided bombs to attack two districts in the southeast and another district in the north of the city.

The Mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the three bombs damaged a hospital and hit power transmission lines. Nearly 30,000 customers had been affected by power cuts.

Four people had been injured, most by flying glass, with some patients being transferred to different wards, he said.

"Unfortunately, the hospital was badly damaged, and there were patients inside. Four people were injured to various degrees, and about 200 windows were smashed."

In recent weeks Russian forces have concentrated their attacks on targets associated with Ukraine's electricity grid and gas industry as winter approaches.

A mass attack on Kyiv and other centers last week left more than a million households and businesses temporarily without power across the country. Water supplies were also disrupted.

In the city of Kostiantynivka, in eastern Donetsk region, one of the prime targets of Russia's slow advance through the area, a Russian drone attack on Monday killed two people in a car, the head of the city's military administration said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he will travel to the United States this week for talks on the potential US provision of long-range weapons, a day after US President Donald Trump warned Russia that he may send Kyiv long-range Tomahawk missiles.

A meeting between Zelensky and Trump could take place as early as Friday, the Ukrainian president said, adding that he would also meet defense and energy companies and members of Congress.

"The main topics will be air defense and our long-range capabilities, to maintain pressure on Russia," Zelensky said.

The US visit will follow what Zelensky described as a "very productive" phone call with Trump on Sunday. Trump later warned Russia that the US may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles if Moscow does not settle its fighting there soon.

After that warning, Russia said there were no plans for a call between Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

"There are no clear agreements on a phone conversation yet," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Moscow has expressed "extreme concern" over the US potentially providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Putin himself has previously suggested that the US supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine would seriously damage relations between Russia and the US.

Agencies via Xinhua